


Kurokocchi Makes a Cute Detective~

by bisexualkiseryouta



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi is some kind of crime lord or somethin, Aomine and Kagami are cops, F/M, Kise is like a detective prodigy, M/M, detective!Kuroko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2015-01-06
Packaged: 2018-02-11 12:00:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2067357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualkiseryouta/pseuds/bisexualkiseryouta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroko Tetsuya is a good, albeit a tad eccentric, detective; not one for much socializing, but he does his job well.<br/>Enter Kise Ryouta, a child prodigy who's been helping to solve cases for years- like some kind of cheesy novel's protagonist or something- and, apparently, Kuroko's new partner. While the two don't see eye to eye at first, as in Kise is unimpressed by his partner and Kuroko doesn't like being responsible for another high school kid, they eventually come to like and respect each other.<br/>Then, you know, something bad happens, and everything just kind of goes crazy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enter Kise Ryouta, Whiz Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko Tetsuya, a renowned, if a little eccentric, detective, gets a call from his captain, a highly unusual occurrence because said captain prefers to let that Ahomine or Bakagami deal with him, to meet someone. That someone just happens to be the detective prodigy, Kise Ryouta, a surprisingly attractive high school boy with a penchant for investigating murders and the like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe, more random fanfiction by me~ yay! Procrastinating!
> 
> Anyways, if Kise seems a little OOC this chapter, I apologize, but I was trying to do the whole he-doesn't-respect-Kuroko-at-first thing~ Don't really know what to say here... eh -_-''
> 
> Well, comments are welcome, tell me what you think!
> 
> Please enjoy~

The annoying sound of his cell phone vibrating rouses Kuroko from his sleep; he sits up with a low groan, running his fingers through the spiky mess of his hair, and grabs the phone of his bedside table, pressing it to his face and letting out a quiet "Hello?".

"Kuroko," Kuroko perks up at the sound of his captain's voice. It's unusual for Hyuuga to call him directly; usually he makes Kagami or Aomine call him instead. "I know you weren't planning to come in today, but I have someone here that," there's a slight pause, like Hyuuga's covering the mouthpiece to say something to someone. "you need to meet. Come in as soon as possible." Hyuuga disconnects before Kuroko can reply, making it obvious that this is an  _order_ , not a request.

Kuroko Tetsuya is, arguably, the most talented detective in his department- his observational skills and ability to see things through the perspective of others, like, say, a serial killer he's trying to catch, have made him one of their most valuable assets. He also happens to be one of the youngest detectives, barely midway through his twenties, while most of the others are solidly in their thirties. Although everyone respects him for his amazing detective skills, most of his colleagues admit that the young man is a bit... strange.

Kuroko has an extraordinarily low presence, so he can slip by almost anyone completely unnoticed; of course, after a while, those he works the closest with have become more accustomed to him, and are less likely to have a mini heart attack because of his sudden appearances. Then, there's the fact that he rarely associates with anyone outside of working, preferring to sit home and read a book (supposedly). In actuality, the reason Kuroko doesn't go out for drinks with the guys after work and why he prefers to work on his cases at home, instead of in the office, is because he has to take care of his little sister.

Only Aomine and Kagami have ever met the bluenette's younger sibling, and Kuroko prefers it that way. Being a detective can be dangerous, and the idea of any of the unsavory types of people he has to deal with being around Ayano makes him feel sick; if his job didn't pay so well, he'd quit immediately and move the two of them to a small town in the country, far away from the murderers and rapists and drug dealers that thrive in the darkness of the city.

With a soft sigh, Kuroko pushes himself out of his bed, dutifully smoothing the sheets and covers back into place.

Kuroko considers himself to be a very neat person; every book is in its place on the shelves, every piece of clothing is folded and stacked neatly in his dresser, every spare scrap of paper is tucked neatly away in his desk. He likes things to be in order.

His little sister has the opposite sort of mentality.

When he shuffles into the bathroom they share, he finds a bra shoved behind the sink, a bottle of vanilla body wash on its side in the shower, and a thin film of blue eyeshadow on the mirror. There are puddles of water all over the floor, and a towel is placed over the worst spots. "Ayano?" he calls out, frowning to himself.  _She's going to flood the apartment under us again if she keeps this up._  His sister appears at the door, hopping on one leg as she attempts to put a sock on her other foot, matching sky blue hair in a messy bun. "I promise I'll clean it up, onii-chan!" she says, eyes wide and apologetic, "I'm just running late is all."

"I have to go into the office today," Kuroko bends down to wipe up the puddles of water, "so I'll give you a ride. Please be less messy next time."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, onii-chan!" the girl throws her arms around him, bouncing up and down with happiness. "And I will, I totally will. Cleanliness is next to godliness and all that jazz!" Ayano hops out of the bathroom, still struggling with her sock, calling back about needing to find her school sweater.

Kuroko cleans the bathroom quickly and efficiently before taking a short shower and taming his crazy hair, all to the soundtrack of Ayano stomping around the apartment, squeaking when she runs into things, and putting on some food for breakfast. Personality wise, the siblings couldn't be more different- while Kuroko is quiet and keeps to himself and likes things to be in perfect order, Ayano is loud and outgoing and messy. When he was younger, the kids in his class took to calling him a robot, because they said he had no emotions. True, it is hard to tell what he was feeling if you don't know what to look for; his expressions look so similar that most people can't tell that he is amused or sad or angry. Most people don't bother to observe him long enough to notice these things.

Ayano is the opposite. You can always tell what she's feeling; she's an open book. Kuroko finds it incredibly endearing how she shows her annoyance through overexaggerated pouts or her happiness through huge, goofy grins.

So, when it comes to personalities, they're opposites, but, when it comes to appearances, Ayano is practically a female version of him: same sky blue hair, same porcelain skin, same petite stature, same button nose, same small lips. They're practically identical, except for their genders and eyes. Ayano has beautiful, honey-colored eyes that can be gold or copper sometimes, depending on the light; Tetsuya, on the other hand, has azure blue eyes that are, according to Ayano, the most expressive part of him. She says his eyes really are the windows to the soul- you can see everything about him in his eyes.

"Tetsuya~ I made breakfast!" she calls as Kuroko shrugs on his hoodie. One perk of being a detective: he can wear whatever he wants on the odd occasion he has to go to the office. The badge in the pocket of his jeans is the only thing that separates him from any other twenty-something kid on the streets. Well, and the gun hidden under his shirt.

Kuroko sits down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table, the side of his lips quirking up at the sight of Ayano in a frilly white and pink apron; their uncle bought it for her the last time he came to check on them. "Here you go, onii-chan. And you better eat all of it this time! You're too thin!" she waves around a wooden spoon as if to punctuate her point, a concerned frown on her face. "I will, Ayano. Thank you."

Kuroko mumbles a soft "thank you for the food" while Ayano lets out a loud, energetic "thank you for the food" before digging into her portion like she hasn't eaten in days.

The two are quiet as they eat, neither feeling the need to strike up a conversation, just enjoying each other's company.

The silence is broken by the buzzing of Kuroko's phone, which is surprising, because Kuroko doesn't get calls or texts very much. "Hello?" he says, not bothering to leave the table; from the way Ayano is still vacuuming up food, he can tell she doesn't mind.

"Oi, Tetsu," Aomine's lazy voice drifts through the phone's tinny speakers. "Hyuuga told me to tell you to hurry up. He's getting all pissy."

"Please tell him I will be there soon." Kuroko checks his watch and calculates how long it'll take to drop off Ayano and then get to the station. "Thirty minutes tops."

"You droppin' off Ayano?"

"Yes."

"'Kay. I'll tell 'im."

Kuroko ends the call and slips the phone back into his pocket, Ayano already standing up and gathering their dishes. "I'll wash them this afternoon. Let's get going."

* * *

"Good morning, Kagami-kun."

The redhead police officer jolts in his seat at Kuroko's sudden appearance. "Oi, Kuroko, stop sneaking up on me! Make some noise next time!" he yells, catching the attention of Momoi Satsuki, another detective, who hurries over to Kuroko with a wide smile and a skip in her step. "Good morning, Tetsu-kun!"

"Good morning, Momoi-san."

Momoi specializes in information gathering, and she's one of the few women in the department; at first, she had problems because of the blatant sexism of her colleagues, but after single-handedly catching a murderer who massacred multiple families during the Christmas season, no one was dumb enough to look down on her because of her gender.

"Why are you here, Tetsu-kun? Working on a new case?" she asks, leaning against Kagami's desk, eyes sparkling with an I-know-exactly-why-but-I-want-to-know-if-you-know look. "No. Captain called me in to meet someone. Do you know who it is, Momoi-san?"

"Hmm... me?" Momoi flashes him an amused smile. "No idea. But captain's been whining for the past hour about you not being here, so I expect it's someone important." Kuroko can tell from her expression that she knows more, but he decides not to pry; he'll find out soon enough. "I suppose I'll go find out. Is Hyuuga-san in his office?" Kuroko's eyes slide to the door of said office, expecting the captain to burst out, most likely yelling, possible throwing things. When stressed, the captain can be quite the terrifying person.

"Yep. Bye, Tetsu-kun~" Momoi wiggles her fingers in a half wave before strutting back to her desk, hips swaying, completely content to flaunt her womanly charms. "Goodbye, Kagami-kun," Kuroko says, earning a grunt from the redhead, who's hunched over a stack of papers with a scowl; Kagami has never been one for paperwork.

The bluenette approaches the captain's door cautiously, rapping on it with his knuckles.

The door is flung open to reveal an annoyed-looking Hyuuga. "Eh, Kuroko, what the hell took you so long?" The man growls, tugging the blue-haired detective into his office. "I had to drop my sister off at school," he replies, eyes settling on a boy sitting by Hyuuga's desk.

And, yes, boy is the correct word for him; he can't be any older than fifteen, maybe sixteen.  _Ayano's age._ The boy has golden blond hair that's messy in an artful way that makes Kuroko think he spent at least twenty minutes on it with gel and a hair dryer; from Kuroko's estimate, he's around 185 cm, maybe 74 kg? Somewhere in that ballpark, anyways. He has a light tan that makes Kuroko think he plays a sport, something strenuous judging from his lean physique, and amber eyes framed by thick black lashes. His left ear is pierced by a plain, silver hoop earring. Over all, the kid looks like he belongs on a billboard modeling clothing rather than sitting with a pleasant smile in the captain's office.

"Kuroko, this is Kise Ryouta."

* * *

Kise flashes a smile at the man who Hyuuga, his new captain, drags into the office with a gruff admonishment for taking so long to arrive. Not that Kise minds; meeting his new partner means having to do work, and work is a pain.

"I had to drop my sister off at school," the man says, looking completely unapologetic.  _Sister, huh?_ The captain only gave Kise the bare minimum about the guy he's going to be partners with- basically just a simple reassurance about this guy, Kuroko Tetsuya, being a good detective and whatnot. "One of our best and brightest," he'd boasted, like a twenty-something detective would be impressive to Kise, who's still in high school and has been helping the detectives in his hometown on cases since he was ten. No matter, though; not everyone can be a genius, right?

"Kuroko," the captain says as the man finally settles his gaze on Kise, "this is Kise Ryouta."

Kise can almost feel the man reviewing him- observing, estimating, assuming. So Kise takes his time looking over him, as well; to be honest, this "best and brightest" guy doesn't seem all that great. He's smaller than Kise, by a substantial margin, one hundred sixty something centimeters, fifty something kilograms. Sky blue hair and darker blue eyes framed by thick, black lashes that a model would covet and pale skin. A blank face and a monotone of a voice- he doesn't seem interesting in the least.

"Hyuuga-cchi," Kise whines, deciding that this man was a complete  _disappointment_ , "why do I have to be stuck with this guy? Can't I be with Aomine-cchi or Kagami-cchi?" The captain had introduced him to the tan man with dark blue hair and his partner, a redhead who seemed to enjoy scowling all the time, earlier;  _they_  looked like cops at least. This guy looks like he could be Kise's age.

"Oi, I told you, Kuroko is one of our best detectives. And he's the only one I trust with you." Hyuuga claps Kuroko on the back, and Kuroko's expression changes by the tiniest increment- the corners of his lips turn down.  _Guess he's not too pleased about this either._

"From now on, Kise will be your partner. You'll have to work around his school schedule," Kise pouts at this; does he  _really_ need to go to school? "but you two can work outside of the office, since that's what you prefer." _  
_

"Hyuuga-san, he's a teenager."

"Yes, I know."

"A teenage detective?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"This isn't a manga or a light novel, you know."

"I understand that."

"Really?"

"Really."

Kuroko's eyes widen a bit, so he's apparently shocked, or something.

 _Hm. Maybe this will be interesting._ Kise stands up, smiling one of his dazzling, model-esque smiles. "I guess we should get to work then, Kuroko."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it~ I'd love to hear what you think~
> 
> If you want to check out my progress on stuff or see my other fanfics, you can go to this place---> http://zombie-apocalypse-or-not.tumblr.com/
> 
> Okay, BYEEEEEE TIL NEXT TIME!!!


	2. School, Sweet, Boring School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise shows up for his first day at his new high school, expecting nothing more than the same monotonous routine of girls- well, everyone, really- fawning over him.  
> Instead, he ends up taking an interest- not romantically, mind you, she's basically the opposite of his type- in a certain blue-haired detective's younger sister, a scatterbrained, awkward, naive girl with an inability to be on time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter is basically just Kise and Ayano meeting at school because, you know, reasons 〜(￣▽￣〜)
> 
> Anyways, sorry for any OOCness by way of Kise, and for the whole rushed friendship thing... eh. I'm a lazy author, I admit it.
> 
> Hope you enjoy~

Kise walks through the mostly deserted hallways of his new school, not caring about how the few stragglers wandering about stare openly at him; he's used to it. The stares, the hushed whispers, the nervous little smiles- they're nothing new. The same monotonous actions pasted on to new faces;  _so boring._

He stops outside one of the classrooms, catching the attention of its occupants.  _Class 1-B, right?_ The small wooden sign hanging outside of the room reassures him that its the right place, so he walks in, dazzling his new homeroom teacher one of his patented, guaranteed-to-distract smiles. She's flustered, cheeks red, as she asks if he's the transfer student. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Oshiro Saori." she introduces herself. He drags his gaze over her in a way that's most definitely  _not_ proper for a student to be looking at a teacher- although, it's not like he likes what he sees.

Boring, flat, shoulder-length black hair, wide brown eyes, plain features, and a suitably modest skirt-and-blouse combination with flats instead of heels- a perfect clone of the "perfect" high school teacher. Nothing special or interesting.

Kise is polite and easily introduces himself to the class, pretending not to notice the adoring stares from the girls and the flurry of whispers, questions he's heard a thousand times before.  _So boring_ , he thinks again. "Kise-san, please take a seat beside... is Kuroko-san not here?" Oshiro-sensei eyes two empty desks at the back of the classroom, looking shocked. "She's probably late again!" someone calls out, and there's the required burst of snickering that means this is a frequent occurrence.

 _Kuroko-san, huh?_ Same last name as Kise's new partner.  _A cousin or niece or nephew? Something like that, I guess._

The door to the classroom suddenly flies open, and a short girl stumbles in, hair a mess, barely keeping a grip on her bag. "Sensei! Sorry! I, um, fell on my way here," the girl is bowing like she's waiting to be reprimanded and Kise notices that one of her knees is skinned, a few drops of blood staining the top of her white sock.  _Hm. I guess she's telling the truth- or she's really committed to her excuse._ Although, Kise couldn't imagine someone being desperate enough to fake a fall as an excuse.

There's another round of hushed laughter, and the tips of the girl's ears are bright red. She's obviously embarrassed.

Kise watches as his new teacher sighs- loudly- and puts on a stern expression. "Alright. I'll let you off this time-" the girl straightens up, smiling gratefully, "-if you show our new student around."  _Ah, how annoying. I don't need a tour guide._ Kise focuses on the girl- Kuroko- and is surprised to see that she looks a lot like his partner; same sky blue hair, same smooth, porcelain skin, same angelic facial features. The girl settles her wide, honey-colored, Bambi-esque eyes on Kise for the first time since she ran into the room. She blinks at him for a moment, looking completely unfazed by the attractive boy in front of her.

"I will, Sensei. Thank you." she murmurs, averting her eyes.

"Good." The woman's face settles into a small, amused smile, "Take your seat; Kise-san, please sit beside Kuroko-san. She'll take you to your classes." The blue-haired girl hurries to the back of the class, favoring her uninjured leg, and Kise follows behind, wondering if he should offer to walk her to the nurse or something; she shouldn't just leave her knee unattended.

Kuroko sits in the desk closest to the window, gesturing for Kise to take the empty seat beside her. Kise watches the girl with interest; she seems uninterested in him, barely looking over at him as she rifles through her school bag, asking calmly for his schedule, holding out one pale hand expectantly. His lips twitch up into an amused smirk and he places the folded up paper in her hand.

Kuroko's face screws up as she reads over the schedule, mouthing the words to herself, her forehead crinkling in concentration. He has the urge to ask if she'd like some help with reading it- she looks like she's having quite the ordeal making sense of the words.

"Mm. We have most of our classes together." she concludes, eyes still skimming the words before flicking up to meet his gaze. "So, you can just follow me, okay? And, if you need to find the bathroom- or, you know, whatever- just ask, and I can show you where things are." Kuroko returns his schedule to him. "Oh, and, you can call me Ayano. No one really calls me Kuroko."

"Alright, Ayano-cchi. Thanks for showing me around~" Kise singsongs, deciding that this particular tour guide might not be so bad.  _She seems interesting, at least._ Ayano nods before turning her attention back to the teacher, oblivious to the surrounding students eavesdropping on their conversation- or maybe she's just pretending not to notice. Kise can't tell. His eyes slowly trail down to settle on her still bleeding knee, a frown creasing his forehead as a drop of blood trickles from the wound, rolling down her pale skin until it's absorbed by the white cloth of her sock, leaving behind a trail of crimson.  _That must be uncomfortable. Why doesn't she ask for a Band-Aid, or something?_

After a moment, she senses Kise's gaze on her and she follows the line of his sight to her knee. "Oh. Oops; forgot about that." Ayano mutters to herself, pulling a bandage from the pocket of her sweater, quietly ripping off the paper and placing it with practiced care on her knee, shoving the trash back in her pocket.

_Very interesting._

* * *

Much to Ayano's surprise, Kise opts to join her on the roof for lunch instead of accepting one of the many, many,  _many_ offers he received from his new classmates; he was pretty much the talk of the whole school by now. Ayano chose to ignore the nasty, jealous looks most of the other girls were throwing her.  _It's not like I asked to be part of the welcoming committee_ , she pouts inwardly. But, showing the new guy around is better than being stuck with detention  _again_. No matter how early she woke up, she could never seem to get to school on time unless Tetsu-nii drove her.  _Maybe I should leave, like, an hour early? Then I definitely can't be late, right?_

Ayano feels a hand tugging at her elbow, and its Kise pulling her out of the way just before she would have walked into some guy. "Oh! Sorry! Thanks, Kise-san!" She frowns at how unobservant she is when she's thinking.  _It's like I'm too dumb to even think and walk at the same time_ , she whines to herself. "No problem, Ayano-cchi." Kise smiles enthusiastically, revealing a mouthful of perfect, sparkling, white teeth.  _He should be in a toothpaste ad._

The two walk up the staircase that leads to the roof, and Ayano shoves the heavy, metal door open, grunting as it scrapes against the concrete of the roof and its hinges shriek annoyingly. "People usually don't come up here unless they're skipping; someone made up this dumb story about the roof being haunted a few years ago," Ayano slips off a shoe once Kise comes through the door and uses it as a door stop so they don't get locked out. "So that keeps most people away. I haven't seen any ghosts though, so I'm pretty sure it's not."

"So, Ayano-cchi likes being alone?" Kise questions, tilting his head to the side, amber eyes observing her intensely;  _man, he looks like Tetsu-nii when he's trying to figure something out._  From what Ayano's noticed- which isn't much, because her attention span is  _terrible_ -, Kise is surprisingly observant for a teenage boy. She'd probably have to start stripping in the front of the class to get the attention of any of the other guys, but Kise keeps watching her, like he's trying to figure her out, or something. Which is weird because, according to her brother, she's an open book.

"Hmm." Ayano looks up at a bunny-like cloud floating across the sky, mulling over her answer. "Not really. But I don't have many friends who are my age." She smiles slightly as she thinks about Kagami's screwed up face as he was pounding on the buttons of his controller, desperately trying to beat Ayano in one of the video games they were playing, and Aomine's smug smile when the two of them beat her brother and Kagami in another 2-on-2. The two dumb cops are probably her best friends in the world- as sad as that might seem.

Kids her age just don't... like her.  _Maybe I'm not trying hard enough?_  Ayano frowns slightly to herself- what more can she do? She tries to be friendly; tries to always smile and be polite. But, she still has no one to eat lunch with.

"Aw~ I'll be Ayano-cchi's friend!" Suddenly, the small blue-haired girl is pulled into a crushing bear hug by a boy she hardly knows, listening to him fuss over her messy hair and saying she's just "too cute".

 _This dude is pretty weird, huh?_ Ayano tries to push Kise away, gasping out that she can't breathe, but, you know. She can't really be picky about friends, right?

* * *

Honestly, Kise wasn't planning on hugging her.  _Honestly._ The petite, blue-haired girl isn't his type, not just girlfriend-wise, but in general; she's scatterbrained, and messy, and so open about things that it's almost  _painful_. She's the exact type of person he finds boring. He can't stand people like her; people with no layers, just an open book he can read as much or as little of as he pleases. There's nothing to figure out about her. She just  _is_.

But, for some reason, he likes the girl. Kise likes how unorganized she is, how she had to rummage through her bag for a full five minutes before finding her English homework; he likes how awkward she acts, how, when a teacher suddenly calls on her, she gets all flustered, stammering out an answer while her classmates giggle; he likes how she doesn't seem to even  _notice_ that he's attractive. Ayano looks at him with the same not-really-there-but-there look she gives everyone else. Kise liked how, when she said he could sit with her at lunch, she offered it casually, like she didn't care if he did or not. And, when he agreed, she just flashed him a surprised look and shrugged.

Kise likes  _her_. Not romantically- don't get him wrong, blue-haired and flat-chested is  _not_ what he finds attractive-, but as a person. He respects her. Even though she seems sad about sitting alone at lunch, she never seems self-conscious, not really. Sure, she gets embarrassed, but Ayano always seems confident in her actions. He likes that; the constant need for reassurance of most other girls can get quite exhausting.

So, when the girl gets this sad expression on her face, looking unsure of herself for the first time that day, he does the first thing that comes to mind; he hugs her. And, surprisingly, she doesn't seem to mind. Ayano doesn't blush or take it  _that way_ \- she just blinks owlishly at him and suggests that they eat their lunches.

Their conversation was casual, just barely glazing over the normal questions about families, homes, etc., until Kise brought up a certain detective with the same surname as her. Sure, he was probably supposed to keep the whole genius-kid-detective thing under wraps, but who was she going to tell, honestly? And he was curious about how the two were related; Kuroko-san seemed like one of those lone wolf types. Kise had met a lot like him- detectives who poured themselves into their work, no real social life, no relationships to speak of. He was practically a stereotype, except for his low presence and small stature.

"Oh!" Ayano's eyes widen in surprise and she hurriedly chews and swallows the piece of candy she's eating-  _what an unhealthy lunch._ Kise frowns at the little bag full of candy and junk food she produced from her bag disapprovingly; what kind of parents would let their daughter eat that crap for lunch? "You know Tetsu-nii?"  _Tetsu-nii? So he's her older brother, then._ "Yeah, I'm working with him, actually. He's my new partner."

For a moment, Ayano just gives him this incredulous look, but then she's bent over, cackling and snorting and laughing in an unattractive, unladylike way, gasping for breath. "Y-you're the annoying k-k-kid onii-chan got stuck with?" she asks when she finally catches her breath, wiping amused tears from her eyes. "Eh? Annoying?" Kise pouts, trying to hide his amusement at the girl's odd laugh, and waits until Ayano finishes another round of giggles. "Mm-hm. Don't take it personally though; Tetsu-nii doesn't like most people at first. Especially people like you."

"People like me? You mean attractive people?" That earns Kise an amused snort as Ayano pops another piece of vanilla candy in her mouth. "I mean loud, flashy people. People always seem to be watching you, right? Well, Tetsu-nii prefers being able to fade into the background and, with you around, that'll probably be hard." she shrugs. "Ah."  _Well that does kind of make sense. Most people probably just overlook him, but wouldn't my presence make it even harder to notice him?_ "Yeah, it'd make it harder for people to see him," Ayano continues, answering his thoughts in an uncanny, creepy kind of way. "But, he's got to work with you, right? So, how are you supposed to help him investigate when everyone's watching you? All you'd be is an over glorified distraction- and he's got Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun for stuff like that."  _Hm. Guess that does make a lot of sense._ The girl glances down at her wristwatch, standing up quickly. "Crap! We've got to go- class is about to start!" _  
_

Kise smirks, following the girl as she rushes to get them to their next class on time, not really minding the idea of being late. _So, maybe Kuroko isn't such a stereotype, eh?_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be lots more Kise and Kuroko and Kagami and Aomine, I just wanted to get the whole Kise-meeting-Ayano thing out of the way~
> 
> I like the idea of Kuroko trying to be really protective of his little sister and trying to keep her away from the other cops and stuff, but she ends up being good friends with all of them, like Kagami and Aomine are like two more cool big brothers for her that come over on the weekends to play video games and basketball with her.  
> And I feel like sometimes she'd be doing homework, and the two of them would try to help her, but they'd both be way off but they'd fight with each other over who is closer to being right~
> 
> And, for now, Kise's type isn't blue-haired and flat-chested, but I'm thinkin' that's gonna change （￣ー￣） hehe, pervy emoticons! BYE FOR NOW!


	3. There's Not Much To Do After the Fact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peek into the mind of a killer, and Kise and Kuroko receive their first joint case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, sorry for the late update guys! I've been super busy lately... so yah.
> 
> Here's chapter 3! Warning: there is a brief description of a dead body, and some creepy inside-the-murderer's head stuff, and some cursing, so if you're not comfortable with that, you may not want to read this!
> 
> Ah, well, enjoy! Sorry that there's not much plot development~

_It didn't start out like this._

_He swears to God, it didn't start out like this._

_The man lets out a trembling breath as he stares down at the scene in front of him. He's not a psycho- no, he's not insane. He doesn't_ enjoy _this. He doesn't enjoy looking down at the body, the empty body, drenched in a brilliant red, beautiful eyes wide and unseeing. If it weren't for her eyes, he might even be able to convince himself that the girl is just sleeping- yes, she's taking a quick nap. That's all. Soon, she'll wake up and leave, walk away to find her friends, giggling and happy like any teenage girl should be._

_Oh God, when did it become like this?_

_He wants to sob- beg for forgiveness- but there's no one to apologize to. Not anymore. His stomach feels like it's mimicking the wash cycle of a washing machine; he dry heaves beside the body, grateful in a way that nothing comes out. That's less evidence to get rid of, you know?_

_Because he can't leave her here. No, no he can't. He has to carry her away- get her out of this alley and into his car and, from there, it's a routine he's long since perfected. His fingers are already itching to have his knives. But he doesn't enjoy it- no, no he doesn't. He just has to. He can't ignore the urge, the voice, the Other that demands for him to do this. It's not his fault the voice is too loud- oh, God, it's so loud. It makes his head pound, screaming, yelling, demanding. He can't just go on with the voice screaming at him; he's just a man. A weak, weak, spineless man._

_It's not his fault he's not strong enough._

_This isn't his fault._

_It can't be._

_"I'm sorry." he says, because he always apologizes. Like a fool, the voice says. She's long gone. "I'm so sorry... It didn't start out like this, you know?_

_"I swear to God, it didn't._

_"And it's nothing personal- oh, God, I'm sorry._

_"You were just- you were there. It was nothing you did. No, no, you're not at fault here._

_"I'm so sorry."_

_And there is no response. His words, his apologies, fall on unhearing ears. Because the girl lying in front of him is dead- dead. She's dead. Really, honest-to-God dead. She couldn't have been more than thirteen- no, no older than that. She was a child. He killed a child. A poor, poor child- he stole her future._

_Oh, God._

_It didn't start out like this._

_He swears to God, it didn't start out like this._

* * *

How does one grow accustomed to corpses and blood splatters?

Kuroko is one of the first to arrive at the crime scene, arriving not long after he dropped off his sister; now, the place is swarming with the forensic braniacs mumbling about pictures and samples and the other detectives grumbling about paperwork and what a pain this serial killer is getting to be. "Damn, another one?" was Aomine's first question when he and Kagami arrived, sans Momoi for once. The pink-haired girl usually tagged along with the partners because she herself was partner-less- but she probably had a more pressing case to attend to.

That seems insane, doesn't it? Like, what could be more important than a serial killer?

Well, sadly, crime does not stop for the police force to catch a killer.

Kuroko drags his eyes away from his colleagues scrambling over each other like a bunch of ants- and settles his gaze on the cause of all this commotion. The body of the victim has been dismembered and was previously shoved into a completely average looking trash bag. The body was found by an old homeless man who was rifling through the trash and, instead of finding anything valuable, he stumbled upon the corpse of a 13-year-old girl who was reported missing two days ago.

The bag also included her clothing- and, unshockingly enough, no fingerprints or anything else to identify her killer. She wasn't sexually assaulted, and the only visible wounds- besides the whole dismemberment thing, that is- are some bruises on her upper arms and multiple stab wounds to her abdomen. The cause of death is most likely blood loss. But, of course, no one's going to say it definitely is until after the autopsy. You can never be too sure.

It's hard connecting this- these disjointed puzzle pieces of a body- to the picture Kuroko glimpsed of the girl when she was reported missing. She was smiling with all her teeth and her long black hair was in pigtails and her gray eyes sparkled with contentment; Ninomiya Romi looked like a happy preteen with her whole life ahead of her.

Now, she's just another casualty of this killer, who they dubbed something along the lines of the Kiddy Killer. The methods of killing vary, but most of the killings take place close together- and happen within a week of each other. The first killing was a little over two months ago- so that makes Ninomiya the ninth victim.

This killer is diligent, most likely male, and there's something pushing him to kill on a weekly basis. Each body is disposed of in the exact same way; cleaned meticulously, undressed, chopped up, and left in a trash bag somewhere. Since blood was involved this time, maybe they can find the place she was killed- but Kuroko wouldn't get his hopes up. This guy is careful, and tips are always few and far between.

"Kuroko," Hyuuga barks, calling the bluenette away from the body. "I'm putting you and that damn kid on this case. Your drug deal case is going to have to wait." The captain waves him away, turning to one of the forensics guys- Sakurai Ryou- and yelling at him to hurry the hell up, which receives a long string of apologies from the apologetic mushroom.

A quick glance at his wristwatch tells him that school will be letting out in about an hour, so Kuroko should have enough time to go grab the files from the station and get to Kise's school.

Hopefully, Kise won't be too much of a burden.

"Yo, Kuroko," Kagami stops the bluenette on his way to the car. Kuroko blinks up at his friend. "Yes, Kagami-kun?"

"Ah, do ya want-er," The redhead shifts uncomfortably and stares at a spot just above Kuroko's head. Kuroko raises an eyebrow, just about to ask Kagami what's wrong when he continues, "Do ya want me and Ahomine to pick up Ayano? I mean, what with all this shit going on, it might be best if she didn't walk home alone..."

Kuroko stares at the taller man for a few minutes, feeling some kind of mix of gratitude and anger and annoyance; first off, did Kagami  _really_ have to insinuate that his  _little sister_ could end up a victim of this new serial killer? Like, who the hell does that? Sure, it's a possibility, but you're not supposed to  _say_ it. It makes the whole ordeal twenty times worse. Second, why does Kagami assume he'd let his little sister walk home alone? He could pick her up himself- Ayano's safety is his first priority. Even Hyuuga would understand that. Thirdly, it would actually make him feel a lot better if he knew Kagami and Aomine were escorting his sister home- they may be idiots, but they wouldn't let Ayano get hurt. "If you two would like to, you can." Kuroko replies.

"Ah, okay. We'll get her then. Good look, Kuroko." Kagami pats his shoulder before walking over to where Aomine is sitting in their cop car, dozing off with his hat covering his face. "Oi, Ahomine, wake the fuck up!"

A small smile graces Kuroko's lips as he watches his friends squabble with each other- Bakagami and Ahomine are always butting heads, but you can't expect much else from two idiot partners, can you?

* * *

 "Ayano-cchi~ do you want to go get ice cream?" Kise asks, batting his eyelashes at her. The aforementioned blue-haired girl does not melt into a puddle of happiness, nor does she scramble to agree, so her response is in uncharted territory for Kise; a week into being friends, and she has yet to give any sign that she's noticed that Kise is attractive. It makes him wonder if she's oblivious, or just doesn't care enough to comment. Ayano flips open her cellphone and skims something before turning to Kise with an apologetic expression.  _Ah, so that's a no then._ It doesn't really matter though; if Kise gets too bored, he could always seek out that partner of his.

"Sorry, Kise-kun. Aomine and Kagami are taking me home."

 _Aomine and Kagami?_ The blond tries to imagine the petite girl sitting in a car with his senpai from the police station- the tall redhead and the equally tall blue-haired ganguro- and fails miserably.  _They seem like the type to be terrible with girls- especially sensitive teenage girls._ But, then again, Ayano isn't nearly as sensitive as other girls. Still, they don't seem like the type to offer to take a girl home.  _Maybe Kuroko asked them to._

Kise's eyes wander to his own phone as it buzzes on his desk; surprisingly, it's a message from his companion's older brother.

_Meet me outside of your school immediately._

"No problem! It seems like I'll be spending some quality time with your onii-san tonight."

* * *

 

"Oi, dumbass, this is a no parking zone!"

"We're not fucking parking, Bakagami; we're _idling_. Ayano'll be out in a few minutes."

"Damn it, Ahomine! We're cops! Don't fucking break the law!"

"Shut the fu-"

The argument between the idiot partners is stalled when there's a soft knock on the front windshield and they notice a short, powder blue-haired girl peering in at them. Ayano, like her brother, always seems to be breaking up fights between the two. "It's unlocked. You can ride in the back." Aomine drawls after rolling down his window. "Ah, okay." The girl gracelessly hops into the back of the car, slamming her knee against the car and letting out a loud "ouch". Her hair is a mess- like always- and her eyes are feverishly bright- like usual. She flashes Kagami and Aomine a lopsided smile from behind the metal grate separating the front seat from the back seat; honestly, sometimes Aomine thinks the girl has gotten too comfortable sitting in the back of a police car.

"Thank you for giving me a ride home."

"No problem." Aomine grunts out, earning him a glare from Kagami. Neither of the idiot partners is exactly _good_ at dealing with girls, but they're too different brands of tactless- Aomine is just too lazy to care, while Kagami is oblivious and awkward. But even Bakagami knows that Aomine should at least be  _polite_ \- although, seeing as they've known the girl for years, that's probably too much to expect from the idiot. "You should be careful out on the streets by yourself, anyways. There have been some incidents lately." he continues, giving the girl a  _look_ in the rearview mirror.

"Ah, got it. No doing stupid stuff on my way home from now on."

"Yeah. Especially don't go down any dark alleys. And don't talk to any weird guys." Kagami adds. This earns him two _are you really serious_ looks because, hello, Don't Get Murdered 101- but he feels better saying it, even if it sounds stupid. They can't tell Ayano anything substantial about the case- what with the possibility of it getting out and such-, but a few warnings couldn't hurt.

"Don't worry, Taiga-chan; I won't go off with any weird guys or walk through shady alleys, okay?"

"Good- wait, WHO THE HELL YOU CALLIN' TAIGA-CHAN?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, sorry, sorry, sorry if Aomine or Kagami is OOC I have never written them before, soooo yah, don't hate me, comments and criticism are welcome! And, if you want to request anything in the story, feel free to do that, too! I'm open to suggestions ^u^
> 
> Bye for now~


	4. Why, Oh Why Am I Stuck With a Dumbass?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise and Kuroko attempt to tolerate each other, and the killer takes his next victim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, finally, the next chapter! I finally had a free day, and decided I should update ^u^ Plus, I got a comment requesting an update, which reminded me about this story- so thank you for kicking my lazy butt into gear! Lol, it probably wouldn't have gotten done otherwise... junior year is wild guys...
> 
> So, yeah, hope you guys enjoy! Thank you guys for the comments and kudos- and I'll try to update soon!!! Comments and suggestions are always welcome~

"Kise-kun." Kuroko's voice is polite, but a tad annoyed, like Kise's presence in his life is a real problem for him.

 _Oh, well, nice to see you, too. How's your day been? Mine was great; I spent it with your weirdo sister. I'd probably like you better if you were more like her. At least she's interesting._ "Kuroko-san." Kise greets him cheerfully as he slides into the passenger side of Kuroko's car. The car is an old, dark blue minivan that looks more like something a soccer mom would drive than a detective. The only things Kise glimpses that are moderately police-like are a stack of ominous looking file folders and police lights shoved in between the seats that can be attached to the roof when in pursuit. It's so...  _normal_.

Kuroko turns the key in the ignition, making the engine sputter to life with a series of choking noises that makes Kise wonder if the car will break down before they can get wherever they're going, and pulls away from the curb, gunning it out of the parking lot like a man on a mission. "So, where are we going today, Kuroko-san?" Kise asks, feigning disinterest. It really wouldn't do for Kuroko to know that he likes working cases- not the actual paper work,  _work_ part, but the whole puzzle-solving aspect can be entertaining at times. Hopefully, whatever they're working on isn't something dull, like a drug deal gone wrong or something. "You'll see." The bluenette replies, aggressively merging into the left lane. Kise raises his eyebrows as a few cars start honking at them. "You're quite the aggressive driver."

There's a slight shrug of the shoulders. "Gets me where I need to go," he mutters.

 _What a conversationalist you are, Kuroko-san! Really, you're blowing me away with your eloquence._ Kise sighs and decides now is the point in the ride that it is acceptable for him to stare out the window and ignore the driver. He tried his hand at being polite and making small talk- but, obviously, Kuroko isn't going to put in the effort, so why should he? "Ayano says you declared the two of you friends."

Kise's eyes dart over to Kuroko, who's hunched over the wheel as he whips around another car, mouth pursed into a slight pout. "Well, yeah. She told me she didn't have any friends."

"She doesn't need sympathy friends." Kuroko's response is automatic, like he prepared it in advance, and he takes his eyes away from the road to fix Kise with a short glare. "If you're just doing it because you feel pity for her, don't. She deserves better than that." He huffs out, looking completely childish. Kise can't help the amused grin that comes to his lips.  _I guess I should've brought her up myself. He seems more than happy to talk now._ "I don't pity her. She's a nice girl. I like her. Anyways," Kise gives him a friendly smile dripping with venom, "she's not very good at taking care of herself, is she? A bit scatterbrained? I can't even guess at how many times I've saved her from walking straight into someone these past few days. Honestly, it would be unsafe for me to leave her alone." Kuroko's hands tighten on the wheel, knuckles turning an uncomfortable shade of white. "Ayano is  _fine_ without you."

"Mm, really? So, you'd rather I just ignore her? Let her eat lunch on the roof alone? What a sweet  _onii-san_."

Before Kuroko can respond, the car jerks to a stop in front of a tiny restaurant. "We're here." He says, getting out and slamming the door before Kise can ask why they are at a stupid restaurant.  _The only way to a man's heart is through his stomach, eh? You tryin' to woo me, Kuroko-san?_  He chuckles to himself, following the bluenette into the restaurant. A little set of bells tied to the door jingles as they walk in and Kise observes long lines of empty booth tables with colorful lights strung along the walls. A waiter appears from one of the rows of booths, smiling when he catches sight of Kuroko.

"Kuroko-kun, it's nice to see you again. Do you want your normal table?"

"Yes, please, Furihata-kun."

The waiter leads them through the restaurant, two menus tucked under his arm, and gestures for them to take a seat at the- in Kise's opinion- shadiest table. The lights hanging over the booth are dim; the booths are in the back corner of the restaurant, separated from all the other booths, like its in its own private section. A half-dead tulip hangs limply in the plastic vase between the half-empty saltshaker and unopened bottle of ketchup. "So, Kuroko-kun, is there anything I should be worried about going on lately?" The brunette says, jokingly, but there's a glint in his eyes that makes Kise wonder if it really is a joke. "Nothing, really. Although, I would suggest you tell your sisters to take care getting home. More so than usual." The response is casual, conversational, and Kise covers his smile with his hand.  _Trying to get around the whole not talking about cases with civilians thing, I see. What a bad child you are, Kuroko-san. I wonder- does the captain know what you're doing?_ The brunette nods, his smile dimming significantly. "I see. Well, I'll give you two some time to decide what to order."

Kise watches the waiter hustle away, presumably to go warn his sisters. "I-"

"Kise-kun."

Kise frowns at being interrupted, turning his gaze back to Kuroko, who's face is set in a serious expression. "You will not inform the captain of this. As a police officer, it's my duty to protect people. There's nothing wrong with telling Furihata-kun's sisters to be careful. I presume there are people you would warn, if they were in danger. Your sisters, perhaps?" The challenge in those blue eyes is clear.  _Ah, so you've been digging into my background? I'm surprised you would go so far, Kuroko-san._ "Don't worry, Kuroko-san. Your secret is safe with me."  _Unless you give me a reason to tell_ is left unsaid. "It's no secret."

"Sure, sure," Kise waves him off, a smile curling on his lips. "Anyways, would you mind telling me why we're in a restaurant? Did it get robbed or something?"

"Of course not." Kuroko frowns as though Kise's suggestion is insulting. Well, it might be. Seeing as how he's giving the employees special tips, Kise wouldn't be shocked if he gives this restaurant special protection. "I prefer to work here instead of the station. It's much more pleasant." He places the stack of file folders on the table, pushing it over to Kise. "I'll brief you on your first case. It's a very high profile one."  _So, don't screw it up, right?_ Kise lets out a sigh and nods in acknowledgement, flipping open the first file to find a picture of a smiling girl.

"Her name is Kawate Makoto, age 14, height 123 cm, weight 30 kg. Cause of death: strangulation." Kuroko gestures for Kise to open the next file. "Ichiji Natsuko, 12, height 112 cm, weight 26 kg. Cause of death: puncture wound to the carotid artery.

"Nishio Otsune, 14, height 140 cm, weight 39 kg. Cause of death: suffocation.

"Tsucgimoto Masumi, 13, height 120 cm, weight 27 kg. Cause of death: strangulation.

"Yokoyama Shige, 15, height 139 cm, weight 36 kg. Cause of death: stab wound to the lower abdomen.

"Sugase Hana, 11, height 114 cm, weight 27 kg. Cause of death: suffocation.

"Sawai Suki, 12, height 117 cm, 27 kg. Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the chest.

"Iwasaki Maiko, 17, height 145 cm, 41 kg. Cause of death: decapitation.

"Ninomiya Romi, 13, height 124 cm, 34 kg. Cause of death: multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. Of course, we haven't gotten the results of her autopsy back yet, but we presume the cause of death is the stab wounds." Kise stares at the young girl in the last folder, smiling so brightly at the camera, eyes sparkling. Something in the pit of his stomach churns, and he can feel the color slipping from his face. Of course, it's not as though Kise hasn't worked murder cases, but this...

"You're telling me the same person killed all these girls?" Kuroko nods once in confirmation. "Each girls' remains have been found dismembered in a trash bag all over the city. It's the killer's MO." Kise flips back through the folders, at all the smiling girls, some shy, some not, all looking happily into the camera, all completely unaware that their pictures would soon be in police files as random victims of a psychopathic killer. "This is why you told the waiter to warn his sisters."

"Yes. It's also why I had Aomine-kun and Kagami-kun escort Ayano home."

Kise catches a glimpse of Furihata walking towards them, the worry wiped off his face, and Kise quickly closes all the folders.  _No reason to scare the poor guy anymore than Kuroko-san did._ "Are you guys ready to order?"

"I'd like a vanilla shake. And a side of fries." Kuroko orders calmly, acting as though he wasn't just talking about the brutal murders of teenage girls. Kise has trouble sounding calm himself as he orders a hamburger and fries, stomach making noises in protest. Something about imagining the dead corpses of young girls takes away a person's appetite. Furihata nods and takes their menus, bowing slightly before he walks away. "This will be our first case together. Let's take care of each other."

Kise can only nod slightly before Kuroko returns to talking about the case, the killer, the theories.  _Maybe... maybe he isn't what I thought._

* * *

"I'M THE QUEEN, HAHAHAHA!"

"SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE CHEAT!"

Kagami chuckles to himself as he prepares dinner and listens to Aomine and Ayano playing video games in the living room. Since their shifted ended before they had to pick Ayano up, the idiot partners decided to stay over and keep her company until her brother got home. Aomine- being the dumbass that he is- whined the whole way into the apartment, even though he knows damn well that he likes hanging out with Ayano just as much as she likes hanging out with them. Ahomine just likes being a difficult little shit.

"I DIDN'T CHEAT YOU JUST SUCK!"

"OF COURSE YOU FUCKING CHEATED! THE ONLY ONE-"

"-WHO CAN BEAT YOU AT VIDEO GAMES IS YOU?! APPARENTLY NOT!"

"C'MERE, YOU LITTLE-"

There's a squeal and a loud crash. Kagami pauses in his cooking to listen in case that dumbass actually hurt Ayano this time. "D-Daiki-chan, s-stop! That t-tickles!" Ayano guffaws. Ah, so that's what's happening. Kagami returns to stirring the curry while Ayano's breathless laughter and Aomine's taunts float out of the living room to his ears. "Daiki-chan? When the fuck did you get so familiar with us? Respect your elders." Aomine says, obviously trying hard not to laugh himself. "OI, DAIKI, stop CURSING!" Kagami calls out from the kitchen, and Aomine yelps in pain and there's the sound of Ayano scrambling to get up. "TAIGA-CHAN, AHOMINE IS BULLYING ME!" The girl appears in the doorway of the kitchen, hair mussed even more than before, breathless and clutching her sides. "OI, COME BACK HERE!" Aomine appears in the doorway behind Ayano, and the girl darts forward, grabbing onto the back of Kagami's shirt. "Taiga-chan, protect me!" she squeals, hiding her face in his back as Aomine stalks forward to exact revenge. "Oi, Ahomine, go wash your damn hands. Dinner's ready. Ayano, set the table." Kagami announces, smacking Aomine's hand away from Ayano.

"Who the fuck you callin' Ahomine, you Bakagami?"

"You, ya dumbass. Get washed up. Who the fuck knows where your hands have been?"

"Shut the fuck up, I'm going." He grumbles as he stalks away to wash his hands. Ayano detaches herself from Kagami and hops up onto the counter beside him, leaning dangerously close to the hot stove to grab the bowls from over her head. "Ayano, get the step stool next time." Kagami says, pushing her back and grabbing the bowls himself. "You could hurt yourself."

"It's not my fault I'm not freakishly tall."

"O-oi!"

Ayano takes the bowls from him and sticks her tongue out. On reflex, Kagami flicks her on the forehead. "How rude. Respect your elders, midget."

"I don't haveta respect you, Bakagami."

"You little-" Kagami grabs her around the waist and hoists her up over his shoulder. "Maybe I should drop you, huh? Huh?" He laughs as she squeaks indignantly. "Put me DOWN, Taiga-chan!" she wails, fists beating lightly against his back. "Nope; not until you learn to respect your elders." He loosens his grip on her legs, letting her slide towards the ground with a shriek, before tightening his hold again. "TAIGA-CHAN, YOU MEANIE!"

"Jesus, Kagami, put the kid down, I can see her underwear." Aomine drawls lazily from the doorway, making Kagami's cheek turns red. Damn, he didn't notice her skirt getting messed up when he picked her up. "Ah, shit, sorry, Ayano." He gently places the girl on the ground, expecting her to smack him, but she just looks at him in confusion. "Why are you apologizing? It's not like it's the first time someone's seen my underwear."

"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHO THE FUCK HAS BEEN SEEING YOUR UNDERWEAR?!"

* * *

"I'll pick you up from school again tomorrow." Kuroko says, voice much less cold and stiff than at the beginning of the afternoon.

The two are sitting in his minivan in front of the apartment complex Kise is staying in, idling by the curb, while Kise tries to avoid getting out of the car and going inside. He doesn't want to have to wait a whole nother day to work on the case; he wants to find the serial killer  _now_. He wants to get this guy off the streets, where he can't hurt another girl. He wants to solve the puzzle. He wants to make Kuroko-cchi (yes, Kuroko-cchi now, not Kuroko-san; a few hours of looking over the case was enough to make Kise respect the guy) stay up all night with him and finish this. But, he can see the exhaustion in his partner's face, and Kise can tell he wants to get home to Ayano-cchi. "Okay, see you tomorrow, Kuroko-cchi!" Kise says brightly as he reaches for the door. "Kuroko...cchi?" The bluenette repeats, giving Kise a curious look.

"Yep, Kuroko-cchi! I add -cchi to the names of all the people I respect."

"Please don't call me that."

"Aw, don't be such a wet blanket, Kuroko-cchi." Kise pouts. He shoves the door open and hops out, looking over his shoulder at his partner. "Good night, Kuroko-cchi~"

"...Good night, Kise-kun. Stay safe."

"Of course!" The smile on Kise's face is wide and genuine, surprisingly genuine, and Kise wonders what it is about the Kuroko siblings that makes him sincerely happy. Maybe it's just something about their aloofness- like, their acceptance of him means much more than it would from other people. Plus, neither of them seems all that phased by his sparkliness. "I'll be going now." Kuroko nods at him and Kise shuts the car door, stepping back to watch Kuroko pull away from the curb, speeding off down the street. The blond stares down the street after him for a few minutes, happy smile twisting into a smirk, and pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. "Gakusha-kun? I'd like you to find out everything you can about someone for me.

"His name is Kuroko Tetsuya."

* * *

"Damn, Bakagami. You've got it bad for the kid, don'tcha?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kagami grouses as he pulls away from the curb. Kuroko came home ten minutes earlier, so the two of them decided it was time to leave. Ayano seemed sad to see them go, but she called out "good night, Kagami-kun, Aomine-kun" enthusiastically when they left. Apparently, the "Daiki-chan" and "Taiga-chan" thing were only for when her older brother wasn't around.

"I'm talking about your weird fucking crush on Tetsu's little sister. She's, like, fucking 12, you know? It's creepy as hell." Aomine says in that same annoying lazy voice, but there's something in his tone; something that says Kagami should be afraid if he actually has feelings for the kid because Aomine would personally castrate him if he touched her. "First of all, she's 16; second of all, why the fuck do you think I have a crush on her? She's like my kid sister."

"Wow. Didn't know you had a little sister kink."

"What the FUCK, Aho?! Will you quit with your weird ass shit for one fucking minute?! Ayano is Tetsu's _little sister_. I could never feel that way about her, you perv." For added emphasis, Kagami jerks the wheel so Aomine's head hits the window. "Shit! What the fuck was that for, asshole?!"

"That was for being a goddamn pervert! Now, shut the fuck up! I'm driving."

"You know, if you didn't fucking like her, you wouldn't be so goddamn defensive."

"Just... shut the fuck up, Ahomine."

* * *

_He watches the girl, watches her wave at her friend, watches her begin walking away, a brave smile on her face like she doesn't believe anyone will attempt to harm her._

**_Ah, the naive bravery of the young. How delicious._ **

_He creeps through the shadows behind her, following, following, following. His eyes take in her every move, waiting for the moment she slips up, waiting for the moment he can grab her. The last one wasn't too long ago- but the voice is speaking again, pounding through his mind, and he doesn't have the luxury to wait until tomorrow evening._

_He needs to kill someone_ now _._

_The girl is small and slim, all sharp bones and pointy angles, skin stretched across thin bones. Long golden hair trails down her back, little hair trinkets catching the light from the lamp posts. A cell phone dangles from her hand with a cutesy charm hanging off it. She walks with a skip in her step, a golden beam of light in the darkness of this night._

**_Oh, sweet, lovely girl, why are you walking home alone at this late hour?_ **

**_Oh, sweet, lovely girl, don't you know you're my midnight snack?_ **

**_Now. I want her now._ **

_The girl's eyes snap down to her phone as it chirps, a smile playing on her soft, red lips, and he moves, moves, moves.  Her blue eyes widen as he wraps an arm around her neck and claps a hand over her mouth; her grip on the phone tightens as he wraps his other arm around her waist and drags her, struggling, screaming, into the shadows of the alleyway. "Let me go! Stop! Please!"_

**_"What a lovely voice for such a lovely girl,"_ ** _the voice says to her, pouring out of his mouth, poisoning the air around them with death. **"It's such a shame no one will hear it again."** He's pulling the chord taut between his hands and wrapping it around her neck, pulling, pulling, pulling. She drops the phone, letting it fall to the ground, charm sparkling in the low light. Her hands scrabble at her neck, desperately ripping at the chord, at his hands. She doesn't last long- not like some of the others have. Her body falls limply to the ground._

**_Leave her phone here, this time. The game is getting stale._ ** _And then the voice is gone, and he is sinking to the ground, tears pouring down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he sobs._

_It didn't start out like this._

_He swears to God, it didn't start out like this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!! Hope you enjoyed~


	5. Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kise and Kuroko have to go interview the parent's of the latest victim, and Ayano sees a man acting strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHH OH MY GOSH thank you guys for the comments and kudos and such!! They really help me get motivated to write ^u^  
> Anyways, this chapter includes more icky gore-y stuff, so please be warned and be prepared when reading! Also, tragic backstory, which I am a terrible person for, I am so sorry~
> 
> Enjoy guys! Thanks for the comments/kudos/bookmarks! Hope you enjoy this chapter~~~

"Tochikura Sei."

Hyuuga announces the girl's name before tacking her picture onto the huge board in the front of the meeting room- a board covered in pictures of young girls, dead and alive. The one thing missing from the board?

An actual lead. An actual suspect.

"Age 16. 163 cm, 52 kg. Last seen walking home with her friends. Was wearing a Shōri High School uniform and a volleyball sweatshirt. Her cellphone was found near one of the other crime scenes, discarded in the middle of the sidewalk." At this point, Hyuuga pulls a plastic bag from his coat pocket, a light pink flip phone with a charm from  _Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama_ \- an anime Kuroko remembers his sister talking about once- attached to it. "She was reported missing two nights ago by her parents. She was found yesterday evening by a Maji Burger employee. He said he was taking out the garbage to throw in the dumpster when he smelled a terrible scent coming from a bag in it. He took a peak in to see what was making the smell and found the girl."  _Or, rather, her dismembered corpse_. "This is the tenth victim, guys. We need to catch whoever's doing this. The media will be catching the scent of this soon- and you all know how much harder things get when everyone's screaming serial killer." The captain paces in the front of the meeting room, agitation rolling off of him in waves. Kuroko can understand his captain's frustration; this has probably been their worse case to date. The killer doesn't leave  _anything_ behind, the only connection between victims are their age and gender, and the killings are getting closer and closer together.

This case is a  _nightmare_.

"Cause of death?" Momoi pipes up as she examines the board through narrowed eyes. "Strangulation. With a piano wire, it seems." Kiyoshi replies, his normal cheerfulness gone.

Kuroko stares intently at the board, at all the pieces of information carefully lain out in front of him, searching for anything that could give him a hint to who this person is.  _Calm down, Tetsuya. Think about the facts_ , a voice- a voice that sounds suspiciously familiar- says in his mind.  _These are all young girls, right? So, let's first go with the assumption that the killer is a man. That would also make more sense since he physically overpowers these girls. He obviously doesn't lure them away, because he kills them swiftly, probably with a hand over their mouth to minimize noise. Did he kill this girl on the street then?_

Kuroko blinks. Kills them in public? Wouldn't someone see, then?

_Not if it's in the dark. When it's almost night time, shadows everywhere? Everyone running home for the night? No one would see- except maybe a homeless person or someone who works at night. And, don't must abductions happen at night, anyways?_

_So, what do we got? A guy- young enough to overpower these girls, but old enough to not be too sloppy- who abducts girls on their way home from school, kills them in an alley or somewhere out of sight, and then what?_

Well. He'd have to take the bodies somewhere to dismember them.

_Right. I mean, killing in public is one thing, but dismemberment? No one's dumb enough to do that shit in an alleyway where someone can see them. So he needs a way to get to a remote location- and a remote location- to finish up with the bodies, right? I'm guessing this guy isn't dumb enough to walk around with a dead girl thrown over his shoulder back to his apartment, and a bus is too public, so let's assume he's got a car._

_We have a man- probably in his 30s- who abducts girls between the ages of 11 and 17 on their way home from school, pulls them somewhere discreet, kills them, cleans up the blood (?), stuffs them in the trunk of his car, drives somewhere remote, takes the girl out of the car, takes her inside, finishes the job, stuffs the parts in a trash bag, and dumps her in a trash can or a dumpster. He does all of this carefully enough that no one sees him- or, people see him, but don't find him suspicious? So, he looks like a normal guy, maybe even like an upstanding citizen. We're gonna assume he has a job- but not a regular job. Something with flexible hours. School lets out around 3, there are clubs and activities, but most kids leave 3:30, 4. That doesn't work for 9 to 5 business hours. Plus, dismemberment is a long, strenuous thing if you don't have the right tools- and even if you do, it takes a while, right? And he's gotta clean off any evidence of himself. So, he needs to be able to go into work late after a long night..._

"Tetsu-kun, have you thought up a profile for the murderer?" Momoi asks softly, pulling the detective out of his thoughts. He blinks owlishly at the many faces watching him hopefully. "Male, in his 30s, looks pretty normal, owns a car, has a job with flexible hours- but it pays enough for an apartment, expensive tools, and probably a storage facility of some kind. Possible obsessive compulsive disorder. I'd bet my money on him being a sociopath- maybe schizophrenic?" Tetsuya mumbles thoughtfully.  _And maybe... maybe this is a game to him? He's never left a thing behind- but a cell phone? Now? And something happened to him. 2 months or so ago. Something happened that made him start this thing; he probably killed before, but never this much in such a short period of time._  "Probably had some type of trauma happen to him 2+ months ago?"

Momoi nods slowly, eyes still narrowed, as she mulls over Tetsuya's response. "Explain."

Tetsuya complies and quickly states what his theories and reasoning, trying to not feel uncomfortable under the stares of the other detectives. "Smart. I agree with your profile." Momoi says when he's finished, scribbling notes down on a pad. "Well, I guess that's the best profile we can hope for at this stage." Hyuuga sighs. Kuroko feels a pang of guilt; he wishes he could give his captain the information he wants. He wishes he had some psychic ability to help him solve this case, to help save these poor girls. But, he doesn't. He's just a pretty observant detective. Nothing more.

"Kuroko, take the kid and go interview the Tochikuras. See if they can tell us anything."

"Yes, Hyuuga-san."

"Everyone else, I expect you to be taking care of all the other shit, but this is our first priority." With a final nod, Hyuuga stalks out of the room, Kiyoshi, his partner, following soon after. "Kuroko, you need us to pick up Ayano again?" Kagami offers as Tetsuya stands to leave, crimson eyes kind and concerned. Kagami and Aomine have always been good friends to Tetsuya- well. Except for the big incident with Aomine that had him stuck partnerless and Aomine stuck with the new guy, Kagami. But, that's another story. Kagami and Aomine have always looked out for him- and Ayano. But, he can't just rely on them to take care of his little sister all the time when he can't. He has to trust Ayano to keep herself safe. Sometimes. "That's alright, Kagami-kun. She's been wanting to stop by the bookstore, and I'll pick her up from there." Kagami nods. Kuroko can tell he's still concerned, which rubs him the wrong way; he's been taking care of Ayano for  _years_ , who is Kagami to doubt his ability to keep her safe?

_He's just trying to look out for her. Don't be so hotheaded._

"See you, Kuroko."

"Goodbye, Kagami-kun, Aomine-kun." Kagami's partner grunts in acknowledgement, not moving from his position of leaning dangerously far back in his chair with his hat covering his eyes so he can not-so-discreetly nap. "OI, AHOMINE-"

Kuroko slips out of the meeting room with a small smirk on his face. Those idiots really never learn, do they?

* * *

" _I looked at that guy you asked about._ "

Kise slips into one of the stalls in the boys' bathroom, covertly taking the call from Gakusha. He felt his phone vibrating in his bag during class and slipped out with the excuse of using the bathroom, no one noticing his quick grab of his phone.

Well, no one but Ayano, who gave him a guilt-inducing look as he slipped out of the classroom.

"And? What did you find?"

" _... You sitting down? Cuz, it's not exactly pleasant._ " Kise dutifully closes the toilet lid and plops down on it, settling in for a long speech from his friend. "Tell me, Gakusha-kun."

" _I don't know exactly how to start... so I guess I'll just dive right in?_ " The boy mumbles before clearing his throat. " _Kuroko Tetsuya, birthday: January 31st, blood type: A, height: 168 cm, weight: 57 kg. Son of Kuroko Hana and Kuroko Isamu. He has one sister- Kuroko Ayano._ " There's a long pause on the other side and the soft rustling of papers. Kise hears his friend let out a short sigh before he starts back up again. " _I feel pretty shitty about telling you this stuff, Kise; this guy hasn't had a great life. Are you sure you need to know about him?_ " Instead of arousing guilt or nervousness, Gakusha's unwillingness to share just piques Kise's interest in the bluenette even more.  _What's happened to you that's so horrendous, Kuroko-cchi?_ "I need to know. Don't waste my time getting a conscience now, Gakusha-kun." Kise chuckles. Gakusha is one of his oldest friends- a model, like him, with a knack for hacking and digging up information on people. He's Kise's best informant. And Kise knows he won't deny him the information he craves.

" _Fine. Just remember- I warned you..._ "

There's silence for a few heartbeats, and Kise wonders if this will be the time Gakusha finally refuses him, when the boy starts speaking again. " _His parents, Hana and Isamu. They were murdered when he was 16. His sister was- what- 7? 8? The articles and reports are pretty vague on it. And- shit, Kise- it was bad. Like, not just, police officers come to his door and tell him and his sister their parents got killed- he came HOME to it._

" _Some fucking sociopath broke into their house. His sister was home with a cold. She heard- she heard yelling. Heard her mom scream. She told the cops she crawled to the door and peaked out and- fuck. The kid saw the guy shove her mom down on the ground and start tearing at her clothes. Apparently, her mom saw her, and she motioned for her to hide. So, the kid crawled into her closet and hid, but she heard everything._

" _The guy had come in through the window of the dad's office. Came up behind him and strangled him with the strings on the blinds. It wasn't, you know, so bad. Like it coulda been worse. But, what the guy did to their mom? It was so fucked up, Kise. I'm sure you can guess what the sister caught a glimpse of, but, after that, he stabbed her over and over and over, all over her body. Then he fucking carried her to the bathroom and drowned her in the fucking toilet. The guy did a round of the house, took some shit, and even went into the girl's room._

" _In the reports, she said the guy went through her drawers, and started laughing. He said something like 'it's a fucking shame' and sniffed a pair of her underwear or some shit. She just stayed hidden in her closet the whole fucking time, couldn't leave or he would've done awful shit to her, I'm sure. He stayed in her room for a while, touching her stuff, smelling it. Then, he- ah. He touched himself. On her bed._

_"The kid stayed in the closet for an hour or two after he left. Then she- she crawled out and went to her mom. That's how her brother found her- in the bathroom, cuddling up with their dead mom, staring off at nothing. Everyone says it's a fucking wonder she's not a psychopath. Kuroko called the cops, they cleaned stuff up, and sent them to live with their grandma for two years. Then he moved into an apartment with his sister, became a detective. He and Ayano still have to go see this psychologist guy regularly. Their recent reports say they've become well-adjusted and put this shit behind them._

" _Happy now, Kise?_ "

The blond stares at the door to the bathroom stall, wondering what kind of sick joke Gakusha is playing on him. "Didn't they catch the guy? Execute him? Jail time, at least, right?"

" _They never found him. He just... disappeared._ "

Then, because Kise's mind is a fucked up place and hates him, he's thinking about Ayano, Ayano at age 7, a little pale thing with a mess of blue hair and those doe brown eyes, crawling to the door of a room and peaking out and seeing a terrible man doing terrible things to her mother. He imagines her meeting eyes with her mother- he bets they had the same eyes, big and brown and beautiful,- imagines the woman, crying, terrified, shakes her head at her. Tells her with her eyes to hide.

He imagines Ayano sobbing, covering her mouth to muffle the terrible noises coming from her mouth, and crawling as quickly as she can to her closet. Tugging the doors open even as she hears her mother scream and shout and cry; hiding in the back corner, covering her ears, rocking back and forth, pretending  _it's not happening_. The images are so _vivid_ and  _awful_ that Kise wishes it really were a sick joke. Because- because, Ayano isn't- she doesn't- it's not  _fair_. "Thanks. Gakusha-kun."

" _Yeah. Get back to class, Kise._ "

* * *

"Book store, book store, everyone loves the book store~" Ayano sings to herself as she skips down the sidewalk, blue hair bouncing with every step, managing somehow to not run headfirst into anyone. Kise-kun and Tetsu-nii are working on their case and Daiki-chan and Taiga-chan have a later shift today, so she's supposed to go to the book store and hang out there until Tetsu-nii can come pick her up.

The sky is already darkening when she reaches the book store, making the city seem significantly less inviting than when the sun is shining high in the sky. Ayano pushes the glass door open and smiles as the soft sound of bells jingling greets her ears. The Queen's Book Store is probably her favorite place to go when she has free time; YA novels with colorful covers and one word titles line the racks beside the dramatic pictures on the front of manga with much longer titles. Comfy armchairs can be found in random places throughout the store and little cafe tables sit up front where students can bring their laptops and log into the free wi-fi. A small coffee machine and a mini fridge stand beside the counter, offering fizzy soft drinks and creamy hot chocolate, while the miniscule rack of junk food calls out to her with packs of mini chocolate donuts and pocky. 

The owner of the store is an American woman who moved here after marrying her husband, who was originally from Japan. Her name is Elizabeth and, whenever she's not busy, she'll come over and chat with Ayano- sometimes even in English! Ayano's probably the best in her English class; Taiga-chan helps her with her English homework sometimes, but he's pretty crappy at grammar. He's much better with pronunciation.

Ayano grabs the newest issue of  _Love Stage_ of the shelf, gives Elizabeth a wave, getting a smile in return as the woman rings up someone's purchase, and huddles in the armchair that sits in the far back of the store.

Before she can get into her newest read, however, her cell phone buzzes with a text message. 

**Hi, Ayanocchi~ I'm with your brother and I'm so bored (ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ**

**Did you find the book you were looking for at the store? (^・ω・^ )**

Ayano contemplates not replying. She knows onii-chan hates texting while he's working. But, it would be rude not to reply.

**Mm, yeah, I did. It's really good so far. ^u^**

Her thumb hovers over the send button for a moment, cheeks red because she's never really used emoticons before, and what if she seems stupid, and what if he think she's being rude, and what if...

She furiously presses down on the button to shut up her nerves and tosses her phone back in her bag. This whole 'having friends' thing is much more stressful than Ayano thought it would be; she always feels like she's doing something wrong, screwing things up, and that one day Kise's just going to come to school and tell her he's changed his mind, that she's weird, that he never wants to talk to her again.

**Ah, Ayanocchi is so cool~ I could never read as much as you do ( ≧Д≦)**

The corner of her lips tug up. Kise is probably... the coolest person she's ever met. He just became friends with her, even though everyone thinks she's dumb and always late, even though she didn't make any real effort for it herself. Plus, he's been really nice to her and he always asks her to hang out after school and he even bought her this little phone charm while they were out on a Saturday- it's this dainty little thing with a smiling white cloud on the end. She's never had a phone charm before; it always seemed like a thing girls did, but it didn't seem to be a thing girls did themselves. It was like girls would give them out like friendship bracelets.

**You probably could if you tried; you're smart enough, I think.**

 

**Is Ayanocchi making fun of me???（ＴДＴ)**

 

**Of course not.**

 

**WAHHH YOU ARE~ So mean, Ayanocchi (　-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷄◞ω◟-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷅ )**

 

 

 

**I think Kise-kun is just being presumptuous.**

 

**Aww, I have to go, Ayanocchi ( Ĭ ^ Ĭ ) But, I'll text you later~ 〜(￣▽￣〜)**

Ayano smiles at the last text and finally places her phone in her bag for good; she needs to get reading if she's going to finish anytime soon. She pulls her legs up to her chest and settles deeper in the comfy chair before losing herself in the story.

* * *

"Kise-kun, I would appreciate it if you would stop texting my sister and focus on the task at hand."

 Kise taps out a quick goodbye to Ayano before smiling over at Kurokocchi. "Okay, Kurokocchi! Where are we going today? To that restaurant again?" The blond inquires as the detective nimbly jerks the wheel and speeds across three lines of traffic, ignoring the shaking fists of other drivers and other much less kind and gestures. "Not today. We'll be interviewing the parent's of the latest victim."

 _Tochikura Sei, 16._ Kise stares down at the manila folder in his lap. She went to his and Ayano's school; she was in a different class, though, so they hadn't noticed her absence. He'd seen her once, though, in person. Tochikura-san was huddled together in a little group of her friends, casting alternately come hither looks at him and looks of disdain at Ayano, who seemed as oblivious as usual. She was a pretty girl; long, golden hair, ocean blue eyes, and golden skin. Thin, but not too thin, and on the taller side. Ayano might have mentioned her once in passing when telling him about a school trip.

A picture of her stares up at him from the folder. Her pouty red lips are pursed into an expression that he guesses was supposed to seem model-esque. Her eyes are narrowed and her eyebrows are scrunched together. It's not a good picture, but it's still obvious that she was a pretty, happy girl with a long life ahead of her.

Although, that's not the case anymore, is it?

Kise's mind wanders from this girl to the other victims, finally landing on Ayano, who's been claiming most of his thoughts today.  _Should I ask her about it? Should I ask Kurokocchi about it? Should I tell her she can come to me if she needs to talk?_

_What do I do with this information?_

"Ayano likes you a lot, you know." Kuroko says when he feels the silence getting tense. "She hasn't had many friends before. She thinks you're the coolest thing, right now." He mumbles the last part, not looking pleased about this development. Kise blinks at him in surprise. "She does?"

"Yes. She thinks you're the nicest person she's ever met. She won't shut up about you- if I didn't love her so much, it might be annoying." And there's that undercurrent in his voice again. That subliminal message that's telling Kise to watch himself, that there will be hell to pay if he hurts this girl. And, for the first time, Kise starts to understand a bit why Kurokocchi is so cold towards him when it comes to Ayano. Because, now, knowing what he knows, he'd beat down anyone who hurts her. She's had to live through more than she deserves already; she doesn't deserve petty high school drama.

Kuroko glances at Kise from the corner of his eye, suspicious. "Ah, well, that's a relief! I think Ayanocchi is really the greatest, too." Kise rubs the back of his head and gives his partner a sheepish smile.

"That's... good then."

Kise steers the conversation away from Ayano and asks Kuroko questions about the case. The bluenette immediately seems much more calm and tells him all he knows and all his theories; he explains to him the profile of person he believes the murderer is. Kise listens intently, filing the details away for later use, barely noticing when the car parks in front of a small, cheerful-looking house. The yard is full of vibrantly colored flowers and healthy grass; a small, cobblestone sidewalk leads up to the house. "Let's go in, then."

Kuroko gets out first, leaving Kise to stare anxiously at the house for a moment. He's never really been the type of person to enjoy interviewing grieving people. All the tears and clinging and questions-  _why, why, why_ \- aren't for him. With a long-suffering sigh, he climbs out of the car and joins Kuroko on the sidewalk, shoving his hands in his pockets and hunching his shoulders. Kuroko, on the other hand, straightens up and walks with his head held high, looking like a detective who Got Things Done. Which is probably better than Kise, who looks like a guilty teenager. _  
_

The woman who answers the door looks nothing at all like Tochikura-san, at first. Her hair is chin-length and black; her eyes are dark brown and framed with long, black lashes. Her lips are thin and pulled into an annoyed frown. "What do you need." The woman says, voice clipped, eyes full of anger. "I'm Detective Kuroko Tetsuya and this is my partner, Kise Ryouta. We're here to talk to you about your daughter, Tochikura Sei."

And, just like that, the hostility is gone, and the woman is stumbling back from the door with tear-filled eyes. "Sh-Shogo! Some policemen are here!" She calls and a man immediately appears at her side. He has golden hair that's been pushed back and sparkling blue eyes that Kise thinks would look friendly in any other situation. He's in a dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of jeans. He's tall and muscular. He should be intimidating.

But, instead, he just looks broken. He wraps an arm around his wife's waist, and peers over at them. "Please, come in. We can sit in the living room." His voice is deep and silky, weighed down by sorrow. Kuroko and Kise follow him to the living room after he closes the front door behind them. The living room is quaint; a sofa and a few armchairs are scattered around the space with a TV mounted on the wall and pictures of Tochikura Sei EVERYWHERE. The blond girl's likeness can be seen all over the walls, on the coffee table, and even on one of the chairs, where there's a family picture printed on a pillow.

"What would you like to know about Sei?"

* * *

"Oh, sorry, sorry!" Ayano reels back after colliding fast first with a man's chest. "Oh, it's alright! Are you okay?" The man grabs her wrist and helps her regain her balance, frowning down at her in worry.

"I'm fine. Are you okay?" She gives the man a once-over, sighing in relief when she sees no obvious injuries. "I'm very sorry, sir!" She bows slightly. Her cheeks are aflame and she feels like a complete idiot. _Baka! You can't even grab a book without running into someone!_ "Ah, it's no problem, really. There's no need to apologize." He rubs the back of his head in embarrassment, his own cheeks a light pink. "But- I ran into you." Ayano straightens up, tilting her head to the side in confusion. The man gives her a reassuring smile. "I wasn't looking where I was going, either. So, don't worry about it."

"Oh, well. Thank you then."

With that, Ayano turns to skulk back to her seat, but the man calling after her makes her pause. "Aren't you a bit young to be in a store alone this late?" His eyes- a dark green color- bore into hers and the question for some reason seems... dangerous. "I'm not alone. My older brother's here." The lie slips past her lips easily, guiltlessly. A feeling is beginning in the pit of her stomach and she feels the urge to run to Elizabeth and hide behind the counter with her.  _Calm. Stay calm. He's stronger than you; you can't freak out and run. He'd just overtake you._ "Ah, that's good then." The man averts his eyes for a moment before gazing down at her once more. "Do you come here often?"

"Not really." Another lie.  _They don't count as lies unless there's no reason for them. Be calm._  "Hm. That's a shame. It's a nice store." The man looks away, and Ayano can feel herself unconsciously impressing him into her memory.

 _Tall, almost taller than Taiga-chan, and muscular; he can't be more than 25, though. Green eyes, black, curly hair. Wearing a Superman shirt over a long-sleeved tee with jeans and a pair of old sneakers. Pale. Expensive watch on his wrist- I think that's a smartphone in his pocket, too. Well off._ "What's your name anyways, sweetheart?" His voice is soft, kind, inviting. It's silky and cascades over her, prying. "Aki." The name slips out of her lips easily, naturally. The man doesn't seem to realize it's a lie. "Aki, do you have a last name?" There's humor in his voice.  _This is dangerous, this is dangerous, this is dangerous._ "Kagami." Ayano almost winces.  _Common last name, common last name, stupid!_ "Kagami Aki? That's a pretty name."

Those green eyes meet hers again, and she knows she's been talking to him for too long, she knows she needs to go, she knows she needs to GET AWAY- the vibration of her phone in her hand brings her out of her thoughts and her eyes flick to the phone.

 _Oh, thank God for spam messages._ "Ah, well, that's my older brother. I should go now. It was nice to meet you, Mr...?"

The man raises an eyebrow and she can feel a cold sweat breaking out on the back of her neck.  _Too far, too far, too much, get away, GET OUT NOW!_ "Hida. Hida Kinji." He supplies, a smirk on his lips. "And, the pleasure was all mine, _Kagami-san_."

 _He knows I was lying._ Ayano musters up a smile and walks away, gripping her phone tightly when she turns her back on him, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart so she can listen- she needs to listen. She needs to hear if he walks after her. Her phone chimes again and she looks down, reading the text.

**Ayanocchi, we're outside the bookstore! You should come out now~ we brought food~~ (≧∇≦)/**

Ayano grabs her bag as fast as she can manage, thanking God that Kise and her brother are there, speedwalking out the store and practically diving into the back of the car when she feels the man's eyes on her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGERRRRRRRRR
> 
> I'm sorry, hate me, if you must.
> 
> Anyways, comments are super appreciated!! (By which I mean, tell me your theories about what's gonna happen and what you like and what you hate plz plz plz ^u^)


	6. Don't Fret Over Things That Can't Be Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth about the Kuroko siblings past is (kind of) revealed, and Ayano ships AkaKuro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys, so this chapter deserves a HUGE WARNING. All the stuff before now is pretty dang tame compared to this chapter; I'm actually sorry I wrote this, but it's kind of a necessary part of the story, so... eh.
> 
> So, WARNING: mentions of rape, murder, abuse, and pedophilia (?)
> 
> READ WITH CAUTION!!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!! I will add that disclaimer before the start of the chapter, as well. This deals more with Tetsuya and Ayano's childhood/back story.
> 
> Now, hope you enjoy~
> 
> At least Akashi and Murasakibara make their appearances, I guess.

_**!!!MENTIONS OF RAPE/NONCON, MURDER, ABUSE, PEDOPHILIA; READ WITH CAUTION!!!!** _

* * *

 

_Stop, please, stop. Stop. STOPSTOPSTOPSTOP!_

The screams ricochet around in her head, piercing her ears in this sickening way, and these screams are accompanied by sickening grunts and that awful voice saying awful things. There is nothing to protect her from the screams and the grunts and the moans and the terrible slapping sound and the creaking of floor boards. There is nothing to protect her from the reality that she's hiding in a closet while her mother-  _while her mother_ -

"Daddy, daddy, daddy," she sobs into her knees. "Daddy, daddy, daddy." She curls in tighter on herself as the screams reach a new level of pain. "Daddy, please, daddy, I don't want to be here, daddy, daddy, I'll be good, I'll be good,  _please_." Her voice is so quiet and soft and useless in this dark closet; she needs to scream, scream until her throat bleeds, scream until daddy bursts into the room and kills the bad man and carries her out of the closet. "Mommy... mommy...

"Mommy, I'm s-sorry, please

"Mommy, please, don't hate me, I'm sorry, mommy, I'm sorry, mommy, mommy, please, please, mommy," The words tumbling out of her mouth are nothing but nonsense and the screams are just getting louder. She curls up as tight as she can, sobbing nonsense, nails digging into her hair and her cheeks, palms pressing painfully hard against her ears. "Ah- ah- UWAAAAAH," the noises rip out of her throat, growing claws and drawing them across her neck, burning her, choking her. "Da-d-mo-m-Tets..." Her voice fails her, leaving her alone in the silence of the closet, the silence that is now only broken by sickening wet noises and pained grunts and whimpers.

_Oh, hush, baby, it's okay,_ she can feel her mother's hand on her hair, stroking the fluffy blue locks.  _Hush, honey. You're safe right here, with mama. Mama will protect you. Daddy too. Even your big brother will take care of you- so don't cry._

_We'll always keep you safe._

_We love you so much, baby._

"Why, mommy... I don't want... to be alone..." The whisper is insubstantial in the deathly silence.

_Oh, honeybun,_ she can feel the warm arms around her, she can feel her mother nuzzling her neck, she can feel the breath tickling her cheek,  _you're never alone. Never have been, never will. No matter what, I'll be right here for you._

Promise?

_Promise._

"Mommy, you promised... Not... to leave me... alone..." Her lips form the words but no sound comes out. Tears trail down her cheeks and she thinks that if she died right now she might not even mind and she pulls her knees closer to her and she wishes that she could just disappear, be sucked up into the floor, and never be seen again.  _Sweetie, think of it this way._ Soft fingers deftly twist her hair into beautiful shapes, tugging gently at her scalp.  _There are people who would_ die _for you. Why would you want to die when you are so loved? Everybody has people that would die for them; everybody is loved. Some people just... have trouble seeing that, you know?_ "If you loved me, you wouldn't die."

There's the sound of a body being dragged, limply, away from the hallway, and there's those awful whimpers again. "Mommy... please... I can't be alone...

"I don't... want to die..."

One last scream tears through the house and then there's a squelching sound, like someone's head is being shoved underwater, and she lets out this awful whine in the depths of the closet. It sounds like a sound a kicked dog would make. Then her hand is clawing at her chest because she  _knows_. "Please... leave mommy... alone..." She clambers to her knees, crawling towards the closet doors. "Mommy... mommy..."

Her exit is halted when she sees him enter her room through the slats in the closet door.

The man is big and scary. His arms are almost as big around as her head. He has shadows on his face like daddy gets when he doesn't shave. She can't see his eyes; she doesn't  _want_ to see his eyes. His lips are set in a twisted, pleased smirk. His hair is white, pure, snow white, with a streak of brown; he has it tied up in a little ponytail. His shirt is dark blue with something on it- a symbol? A logo? All she can see are red stripes...

_Red like..._

She shoves her fist into her mouth to stop a loud sob from escaping. The tears continue silently spilling down her cheeks, but she is silent, completely silent, as she watches the man comb through her drawers, fingers roaming over the scraps of fabric she loves so much. "Damn. It's a shame." He laughs as he pulls her underwear out of the top drawer. It's the pair with the little bunnies all over them- the one she begged her mom to get. Mom always prefers to buy plain colors. She feels her breath hitch in her throat as the man brings the fabric to his nose and  _sniffs_. 

No... stop... those are mine.

Don't touch them.

Get away.

He plops down on her bed, fabric crushed in his firm grip. "Fuck. Smells good. Probably pretty like her mama, too." The man lets out a rough laugh like the idea amuses him. "Mm..." The man's hand is at his jeans, undoing the button and the zipper, revealing his- his  _thing_. 

Look away.

Don't look.

LOOK AWAY!

But she is frozen, frozen in place, unable to tear her eyes away as he brings the underwear to his nose again and starts running his hand over his penis, making those awful grunting noises again, and she can feel the bile rising in her throat and she wants to throw up but she  _can't_ because he would- he'd-

A retching noise tears from her throat.

The man looks up. "Well, well, well.

"Guess we're gonna have some fun, now."

* * *

 

" _DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY! GO_   _ **AWAY**!_ "

Tetsuya runs into Ayano's room, almost slipping and crashing into the sofa, gun firmly in his hand. "Ayano, Ayano, what's-"

He freezes when he sees her, in bed, flailing and screaming and letting out awful noises. Tetsuya discards the gun on her dresser before slowly approaching the bed. "It's alright, Ayano-chan. You're safe. Shh, shhh, it's okay." The screams get caught in her throat and she makes this awful pained noise. Her fingers scrabble against the bed sheets, fighting an imaginary enemy, and Tetsuya is careful not to touch her and set her off; these nightmares are something he's grown accustomed to dealing with. "Ayano? Ayano, I'm here. It's okay. No one's going to hurt you. Wake up, okay? Just wake up."

"Tets-u..." Her eyes flash open and he's suddenly met with terrified golden-brown eyes. "S'okay. No one's gonna hurt you. I'll protect you, Ayano-chan. I promise." The words are so simple, so easy to say. Because he would. He would always protect his sister. Even if it meant doing things that weren't "right".

The tears come, like they always do. Her fingers clutch at the fabric of his nightshirt, nails digging into his back, and her tears wet his neck. Disjointed nonsense falls out of her mouth as she sobs. Tetsuya strokes her hair and whispers his own nonsense- soft promises that she's okay, that he'll protect her, that she doesn't need to cry, that no one will ever hurt her again. How many years has it been? Since that day.

Nine, maybe. Nine years. Nine years and she still wakes up screaming- nine years and she's still terrified to death. Nine years. It used to be much worse, though; nightmares every night, breakdowns almost hourly during the day. She'd scream until her throat bled and she'd attack the nurses when they'd come near her. She was like a feral animal around everyone.

Except Tetsuya.

Except... Akashi.

* * *

"Thank you for walking me home, Akashi-senpai." Tetsuya says to the redhead as they reach the front door of his house. "Anything for you, Kuroko." His friend replies, smiling cheerfully at him.

Under Akashi's watchful gaze, Tetsuya fumbles with his keys for a few moments before he gets the door open, at which point a horrible scream pierces the air. "What-" Tetsuya starts to walk in, but Akashi pushes him back, eyes suddenly harsh and serious. He holds a finger to his lips and gives Tetsuya a meaningful look. He nods in response. Akashi creeps inside the house after quietly slipping his shoes off, socks soundless on the hardwood floor. "GET  _AWAY_!" Tetsuya barely restrains himself from running inside, instead copying Akashi's movements, trying to stay silent. "STOP- NO- STOP IT!" She screams again, and Tetsuya notices that Akashi is picking up the pace, finally rounding the corner and setting eyes on whatever's going on in Ayano's room-

And he freezes. His eyes are wide in shock, which is very disconcerting, because Akashi is  _never_ shocked. "Tetsuya." His voice is quiet, gentle. Akashi hands him his cell phone. "Call Nijimura. I'll take care of things." Tetsuya casts a terrified look at his sister's room, but dutifully scoots back into the living room, calling Nijimura with shaking hands.  _It'll be fine, it'll be okay, Ayano will be okay._ There's a loud crash and Tetsuya winces, tightening his grip on the phone. "Akashi? What do you need?" A voice suddenly says and Tetsuya nearly jumps. "Ah, Nijimura-san."

"...Kuroko?"

Another crash resounds through the house, "Akashi told me to call you. He walked me home and- and I heard my sister scream- and-" His normally calm voice cracks. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I'll be right there. Stay where you are, okay, Kuroko?"

There's a soft click and the call ends, but Tetsuya just continues to stand there, wondering what the loud crashes were, straining to hear the sounds from Ayano's room and tell them apart. All he can hear are soft, hushed tones. Is Akashi talking to his sister?  _Ayano-chan..._ And, just like that, he's ignoring Nijimura's request and walking to her bedroom, needing to make sure she's okay. "Ayano-"

Akashi flashes him a look as he helps the girl pull on a pair of underwear. "It's alright." Akashi's voice is soft as he picks the girl up and sets her carefully on the bed. Then, Tetsuya's eyes fall to the ground, more specifically to the man on the ground.

The dead man on the ground.

His pants are down around his ankles, along with his boxers, so Tetsuya can see his bare buttocks. The sight makes him sick because  _why was he half naked around his little sister_. "Tetsuya." His head jerks when Akashi says his name. "Come here and sit by your sister. Don't move. I'll take care of everything." As Tetsuya walks over to the bed, Akashi pats his sister reassuringly on the shoulder and wipes the tear tracks from her face with his thumbs. "You'll be alright, love. I won't let anything else happen to you." He whispers.

* * *

As Tetsuya parks the car on the curb by their apartment, Ayano starts bouncing up and down. "Tetsu-nii, Tetsu-nii! Is that Sei-nii's car?" Kise raises an eyebrow in the passenger seat, mouthing "Sei-nii" to himself. Ayano had been surprisingly quiet on the way home from the book store, but now it seems her energy has returned to her. "I think it is! Ooh, do you think he brought Atsushi-nii too? I have some candy for him!"

A smile plays on Tetsuya's lips. "I'm not sure. Why don't you go inside and check? Kise-kun and I will bring in the food." Then Ayano is racing up the steps to the apartment while Tetsuya and Kise heft the bags of take out and lock the car. "Who's 'Sei-nii'?" Kise inquires before popping a fry in his mouth, giving Tetsuya a  _I expect a real answer so don't beat around the bush_ look. "That's what Ayano calls Akashi-kun."  _Seijuurou_ , Tetsuya inwardly corrects himself. Even now, he has trouble calling him by his first name. Which is pretty ridiculous when you think about how long the two have been together.

"Akashi-kun?"

"Yes. You may have heard of him- he's the CEO of Akashi Corp.?" Tetsuya replies nonchalantly. Kise's eyes bug out of his head in a decidedly not attractive fashion. " _Akashi Seijuurou?_ 27-year-old CEO Akashi Seijuurou? Most eligible bachelor in the entire country Akashi Seijuurou?"

"That would be the one."

Kise, for the first time since Tetsuya met him, is speechless and silently follows him up the stairs and into the apartment. Ayano is hugging Akashi tightly and chattering happily about school and her new friend (Kise) and the book store and Kagami and Aomine while the redhead smiles encouragingly at her, genuinely interested in the girl's life. Murasakibara lounges on the couch, chomping down on some candy Tetsuya recognizes from Ayano's stash in the pantry. "Kuro-chin~" The sleepy purple-haired giant waves slightly at him.

"Love, may I greet your bother before we continue?" Akashi politely interrupts Ayano's rant. Surprisingly, she just seems to get happier. "Of course, Sei-nii. I'm gonna show Kise-kun my room."

"You are?" Kise asks, looking both shocked and amused.

"Yep, let's go. You too, Atsushi-nii."

"Eh? Do I have to, Aya-chin?"

"Yep."

Ayano herds the other two out of the living room, giving Tetsuya an overexaggerated wink over her shoulder. Akashi smiles at her- this small, loving small that makes Tetsuya so happy he feels like his heart could burst. "I've missed you, Tetsuya." He says quietly in his best  _come to bed_ voice. "I've missed you, too, Seijuuro." Then Akashi is leaning down slightly- that stupid couple centimeter height difference annoys the crap out of Tetsuya- and pressing his lips softly against Tetsuya's, threading his fingers through his hair. The kiss is sweet and loving; although, Tetsuya thinks, it could quickly get out of hand. So he leans back on his heels and whispers,

"Welcome home, Seijuuro."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's some stuff you should know:
> 
> 1\. Ayano was not raped. I feel like I need to specify this, because it's vague and wishywashy in the story, but I don't believe she was. I mean, you can draw your own conclusions, I guess, but I think Akashi and Kuroko got home just in time to save her from that.
> 
> 2\. Akashi is formally the CEO of a very successful business, but he's also the head of some very shady business, so he has connections to do a lot of interesting things.
> 
> 3\. The police reports say Ayano was not found by the killer because that's what Akashi instructed her to say. He made the decision that it would be best to cover that and the death of the killer up (probably because Ayano didn't deserve to have that shizzle in the news). He didn't force Ayano or Tetsuya to lie to the police; it was their decision. It was to protect Ayano.
> 
> 4\. Tetsuya became a detective/police officer so he could better protect his sister (if you were wondering). He felt like he wasn't strong enough to do that- so he entered the police academy.
> 
> 5\. In case you were wondering, Akashi was Kuroko's upperclassmen in high school and they met each other through the library committee. The two became close friends (because there were like no people on the library committee besides them, Murasakibara, and Midorima- and Murasakibara got kicked out for eating in the library).
> 
> 6\. Nijimura was Akashi's upperclassmen who was hired by Akashi after he (Nijimura) graduated high school. He's Akashi's advisor dude for everything- both normal and shady.
> 
> 7\. Ayano calls Akashi "Sei-nii" and Murasakibara "Atsushi-nii" (and Nijimura "Shuzo-nii") because she's known them since she was 7 and thinks of them as older brothers. It's different than how she feels about Aomine ("Daiki-chan") and Kagami ("Taiga-chan"). Aomine and Kagami are like brotherly friends while Akashi, Murasakibara, and Nijimura are family.
> 
> 8\. Akashi does actually live with Tetsuya and Ayano (Murasakibara lives across the hall). It's just, most of the time, he stays in an apartment in the city where the base of his company is. So, he's just coming home now from staying there or being on a business trip. Murasakibara acts as his bodyguard/chauffeur.
> 
> I think that's pretty much it! Well, I mean, if you were wondering, Akashi and Kuroko have been together for 6 years at this point. (Akashi actually asked Ayano permission to date Kuroko before he ever asked him out, 'cause Akashi is a class above the rest and he feels like Ayano is pretty much his little sis too).
> 
> Please comment with how you feel about this! Sorry again -_-'' Also, any theories on what will happen next will be fun to see!


	7. What Makes a Family?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayano ponders what a family is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOKAY THEN. I'm back from some kind of hiatus with writer's block, coming to you with a chapter I started a while back and just completed (so sorry if it's a tad bit choppy)!
> 
> So, I'd just like to say thank you guys so freaking much for the kudos, comments, bookmarks, etc.! It's nice to know that people enjoy the stuff I write- it's super encouraging! And I honestly love writing for you guys. 
> 
> Anyways, on to the story stuffs ;p, this chapter is basically meant to show the whole gang together and see how everyone is tied together (?), idk, sounds weird, sorry! Focuses mostly on Ayano trying to understand what a family is as she grows up and gets over all the crap that happened when she was 7. So, please enjoy, as always! And, comments/kudos/criticism are welcome as always!

_Family- (noun) a group of people who are related to each other; a person's children; a group of related people including people who lived in the past._

_That's what a family is. Well, that's what it is according to my dictionary._

_But, if that's what a family is, then is Onii-chan my only family?_

* * *

"Hands up, Ayano!" The command is sudden and direct, making her arms fly up defensively just as Haizaki's foot connects to her shoulder.  _Ouch_ , she comments dully in her mind as she topples to the ground, cheeks smacking violently against the mat. "What did I tell you about dropping your guard?" The gray-haired teen groans, running a hand through his hair, and she can see her failure at self-defense is  _really_ starting to annoy him. "If you want to be able to protect yourself, you need to get the  _defense_ part down. You can't just go around throwing punches at anyone who looks at you funny." He continues in his favorite holier-than-thou voice as he hoists the much younger girl up from the mats.

"Shougo-sensei, you don't have to be so rough." The ten-year-old girl complains, rubbing the steadily growing bruise on her cheek. "Shut it, dork! And, who the hell you callin' Shougo-sensei?" An arm is suddenly being thrown around her neck and pulling her into an iron hold. "Stahppp!" Ayano complains as Shougo rubs his knuckles into her scalp with a vengeance. "Only if you pay the price for sucking~" He singsongs. "You're a sadist, Shougo-sensei."

"Shuddup."

The grip on her neck lessens slightly and she sees her chance. With a loud huff, Ayano grabs Haizaki's arm and attempts to swing him over her shoulder.

Emphasis on attempts.

"Wow. WOW. And here I thought we were getting somewhere." Haizaki grumbles as he easily tears his arm from her grip, wraps an arm around her torso and hoists her up on his shoulder. "Don't try to do things that require a lot of strength, 'cause you're weak. Play dirty- claw with those damn nails of yours, scream bloody murder, knee 'im in the groin. I'm not teaching you how to fight a damn bully; I'm teaching you to get yourself out of a bad situation." Then he's carefully lowering her back onto her feet and ruffling her hair affectionately. "You're getting tired and cocky. Time to break for the day." 

Haizaki starts out of the wrestling room, presumably to go harass the pretty blond at the gym's reception desk, while Ayano stretches her arms above her head and massages a sore spot on her thigh where Haizaki hit her particularly hard. "Yo, kid, coming?" She glances over her shoulder to find Nijimura waiting at the door to the room, an arm slung around an annoyed looking Haizaki, a lopsided grin playing on his lips. "Yeah, Shuuzo-nii!"

"Hey, why're you Shuuzo-nii and I'm Shougo-sensei?" She hears Haizaki mumble as she gathers up her things. "Because you're an old fart who beats her up and I'm awesome." Nijimura laughs. It must've been a good day, Ayano decides. No guns, no assassination attempts, no shady drug deals- those are the days Nijimura is the most relaxed. They only have proper business days every once in a while, though, so his good mood will probably be gone by tomorrow.

"Can we pick up some take out on the way home?"

"You want take out, Ayano?" Nijimura inquires, slinging his other arm around the small girl, bringing her into his side for a warm half hug before shoving her and Haizaki's heads down and laughing, dropping his arms to his sides. "Ow! Damn it, Nijimura!" Haizaki rubs his neck while glaring intensely at Nijimura, scowling deeply when the older boy laughs again. "Take out sounds good." Ayano admits before picking Nijimura's arm up and tangling it back around her shoulder, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Take out it is." Nijimura says warmly.

"Does the other child of the family want to pick what kind of take out?" He asks, reaching out to pinch Haizaki's cheek. "OW, FUCK- Maji Burger!" The gray-haired teen growls as he slaps the oldest's hand away. Ayano and Nijimura share a laugh at Haizaki's expense as the trio makes their way out into the gym's parking lot towards the expensive-looking car Nijimura is forced to drive.  _My adviser can't be driving around in a car that could spontaneously burst into flames at any minute_ , Akashi said when he presented Nijmimura with the keys to the car, she remembers. Although, it was more because Akashi couldn't stand the thought of Nijimura driving around in a car that could spontaneously burst into flames because Nijimura was the more-or-less father figure of their little family.

 _Family, eh?_ Ayano dives into the passenger seat, giggling when Haizaki sputters some nonsense about being too big to sit in the backseat and Nijimura threatens to strand him at the gym. Eventually, with great dramatic sighing and a why-me expression, Haizaki plops in the backseat and leans forward so he's practically lying on the center console, even reaching to the radio and changing it to a rock station. "How rebellious teen of you." Nijimura comments dryly before smacking his hand away from the radio.

Ayano listens to Nijimura and Haizaki's silly banter while admiring the scenery of the city out her window: beautiful smudges of color flit by, tall buildings that sparkle in the sunlight twinkle, and other cars zoom past like wild animals rushing towards their prey, all aggression and lithe bodies.  _This feels like... family._

* * *

"Ayano-chin should eat lots of candy." A certain purple-haired giant mentions as he follows the 13-year-old blue-haired girl down a busy street, careful to keep her in sight. "Ah, Shuuzo-nii says I shouldn't eat so many sweets. It's not healthy, ya know?" Ayano replies with a small smile. The giant reaches out a hand and pulls her close to him, barely keeping her from running straight into a jogger. She doesn't seem to notice and Murasakibara sees no reason to bring up her klutziness, so he allows her to cuddle close to him, nuzzling her face into his side. He's used to the smaller girl's affection- she's a very huggy person when it comes to Nijimura, Haizaki, Akashi, Kuroko, and him. With others, she's more standoffish.

"Ooh~ let's go in there!" The girl suddenly exclaims, grabbing his large hand with her much smaller one, dragging him towards a bookstore. A glass storefront looms in front of them, displaying colorful books, and a bell that's tied to the door handle jingles as they enter. Rows upon rows of books greet them along with a heavily accented "good afternoon" from a foreign woman that's sitting contentedly behind the counter. Ayano chimes a sweet "good afternoon" in return before guiding Murasakibara to a bookshelf full of manga. Her fingers hover along the shelves, fingertips lightly tracing the spines, and Murasakibara notices dimly that she's painted her nails again. It's a bright red with white stars this time. He wonders lazily if she's been practicing on Haizaki again.

He eventually collapses on the ground and watches her with half-lidded eyes from the ground as she sifts through a manga with two men entwined on the cover. Ayano goes through a myriad of expressions as she skims the book: surprise, excitement, happiness, embarrassment, shock. "Wow" she mouths to herself as she reaches a colored section that shows the men on the cover in some odd positions. "Ayano-chin, I'm booored~" The giant eventually groans, groping his pockets for candy that he knows won't be there; Nijimura took all his candy before the two left.

"Okay, Atsushi-nii. Let's go to the counter so I can buy this and then we can go to that pastry shop you like, yeah?"

Murasakibara nods almost eagerly, eliciting a grin from the girl. " _Atsushi-nii's heart really is through his stomach, eh_?"

"Ayano-chin, you know I don't understand when you say Kaga-chin's weird English sayings." He whines while following the girl to the counter. "That's just because you don't like Kagami-san." Ayano returns, fixing Murasakibara with a I-know-you-so-don't-even-try-to-lie look. "He's annoying. I want to crush him."

His blunt response makes Ayano let out an amused snort before giggling hysterically for a moment. "A-Atsushi-nii is really o-odd," she laughs. Her laugh is sweet, like candy. Murasakibara likes her laugh. "Ayano-chin should laugh more." He drawls after she finishes paying for her manga and the two shuffle towards the door. "Mm, I'll try to, if Atsushi-nii thinks so." Ayano smiles up at him- a big, happy smile that makes her eyes crinkle a little.

_I think this must be family... Right?_

* * *

"Oi, kid," An arm suddenly settles on Ayano's shoulders and she looks up to find Aomine in full police uniform leaning on her, navy blue eyes settling on her face. "Me and Bakagami just got off work. Want to come play basketball with us?" There's the normal annoyed response from Kagami- who's following close behind them- at being called Bakagami and Aomine's careless response. "'Course. When do I pass up a chance to wound your pride, Daiki-chan?" She replies with a challenging smirk. This earns her a painful forehead flick and a hearty laugh from Kagami. Ayano smooths down her uniform skirt when a sudden gust of wind breezes by them, making Kagami ask if she needs to go home and change before they play. "You two play in your uniforms; I can play in mine."

Aomine continues to lean heavily on the smaller girl, getting jabbed in the side with her bony elbow multiple times, ignoring her protests as he leans more and more of his weight on her frail frame. Eventually, Kagami shoves his partner off of her and takes to walking between the two of them while arguing about dumb things with Aomine. Ayano watches Kagami's face closely, enjoying his animated expressions and admiring his face.

What? A girl can't admire a hot police officer's face?

It's not a crime to find people attractive, you know.

His two toned hair is kept short, brilliant crimson on top of black; his funky split eyebrows always seem to be scrunched up over his garnet eyes as though he's perpetually scowling. His skin has a light tan, a nice middle between Kuroko's deathly pale and Aomine's dark tan. He makes the best expressions- all dramatic and shocked all the time. Kagami is prettiest when he smiles though- that smile could make him a real ladykiller if he did it more and if he took a real interest in dating. "Teams?" He asks and Ayano glances around to find they're already at the court.

"You can have the kid, Bakagami. Maybe you'll actually stand a chance against me this time." Aomine announces, making Kagami's face burn red and bumble through several curses.

As she watches the two fight with each other, shaking fists and spewing curses that would earn them a wallop upside the head from Tetsu-nii, she smiles softly to herself.

_This definitely has to be family, I think._

* * *

He envelopes her in a hug, wrapping his arms around her tightly, smiling into her neck. He smells like cigars and suits and fancy cologne; he smells familiar in a way that makes her chest tighten. Tetsu-nii left a while ago to drop Kise at his apartment and Atsushi-nii retreated to his home across the hallway with the bag of sweets she gave him. "How have you been doing, love?" Akashi's voice is soft and calm and makes her feel a lot less scared. It's weird, she thinks. She doesn't even realize she's scared until Akashi is back home to make her feel safe again.

"I've been doing well, Sei-nii. I made a friend, you know?" She mumbles into his shoulder.

There's a comfortable silence as the two stand in the living room, hugging.

Ayano knows that her relationship with Sei-nii isn't normal; she knows she's too reliant, too dependent, too needy. She knows he is the reason she's alive and sane. She knows she owes him so much, and she also knows she has nothing to offer him in return. She knows that she uses him as some kind of replacement for the parents she lost. She knows that she shouldn't expect him to protect her and take care of her forever.

She also knows that he loves her. She knows that he loves her like Tetsu-nii love her, like Shougo-sensei loves her, like Shizuo-nii loves her, like Atsushi-nii loves her. She knows he's the reason she has something like a family.

"I love you, sweetheart." The statement is soft and warm.  _I love you, I love you, I love you._ He always reassures her of that. As if she could forget that she's basically his adopted sister. As if she could forget that he would literally  _kill_ for her. Maybe that should be scary- that he could kill someone faster than she could ask him to. But it really isn't. Because she will never  _ever_ be the one on the other side of his gun. "I love you, Sei-nii. Come home sooner next time, okay?"

He releases her, pulling back to look in her eyes. Akashi smirks. "Ah, how I enjoy hearing you and your brother say you missed me."

"Hey, don't get a big head about it!" She huffs at him. The door opens suddenly and Tetsu-nii waltzes in, shoving his keys in the pocket of his jacket, clucking his tongue to himself like he always does when he's annoyed. "Ayano-chan. Seijuurou." He greets them.

Kuroko and Akashi share a look that reminds Ayano of the way her parents would gaze at each other. Passionate, undying love. That's what she guesses is what's in that look. "Mmmm~ Guess it's my bed time~ I think I'll stay with Atsushi-nii tonight." Before either of them can protest, she's flouncing towards the door, sending a joyful smile over her shoulder. "I won't stay up late, promise!" Akashi's lips pull into an amused smile and Tetsuya covers his mouth with a hand, cheeks heating up at his sister's knowing look. Ayano shuts the door gently behind her, leaning her back against the smooth wood, smiling to herself.

_What makes a family?_

_I think... Love makes a family, I think._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm, so, some personal notes.
> 
> Ayano basically latched onto Akashi after he saved her from her parents' murderer; he was basically the person she relied on while she dealt with the aftermath of everything. Sure, she had her brother, but Akashi was like a knight in shining armor that rode in on his white horse and protected her. She's very reliant and dependent on him at first, and she still is, but she slowly learns to be more independent, is what I'm going for? But she knows that he's basically the patriarch of her little family and she's super grateful to him for that.
> 
> Wooo, soooooo, next chapter: back to the serial killer, wtf a house burns down???, and some adult times that are barely described and practically don't happen!


End file.
